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hutch1612!Hms Amethyst Of course you have omitted the most famous crew member of all: Simon the cat ; the only feline ever to be awarded the Dickon Medal for animal gallantry a little later in her career off China.(1949) And when the King says "Splice the Mainbrace...!!

" There was a particularly large, bold and vicious rat that, together with his band of followers, was causing havoc with the supplies; the crew had named him 'Mao Tse-tung'. Many attempts were made to trap him, as it was felt that Simon, in his weakened state, would not be able to cope with him: but he had evaded the traps. However, one day the animals came face to face: Simon sprang first and killed the rat outright. The delighted crew hailed him as a hero, and he was promoted to Able Seacat Simon — the feline equivalent of Able Seaman.
The days dragged on, more than two months after the original incident, with fierce heat and humidity, no relief in sight, and dwindling supplies of everything, including fuel. At times the boilers had to be shut down to conserve fuel, so there was no ventilation and no refrigeration. Even Simon started to wilt, although he continued with his duties and his rounds, helping, with the ship's terrier dog Peggy, to keep up the crew's flagging spirits. Then there was a typhoon; Simon was kept shut up to avoid possibly losing him, and slept through it all in the captain's cabin. Amethyst survived again — but rations and fuel were becoming desperately scarce. Kerans decided he had to make a dash for it while it was still possible.

So, on the night of 30 July 1949, Amethyst left under cover of darkness, and after a further series of adventures and more damage from Communist guns on shore, made it to the open sea, to be met by HMS Concord. The ordeal was over, after 101 days. King George VI sent his congratulations and ordered that the mainbrace be spliced. On 1 August a special presentation was made on deck, representing what the whole crew had been through. While both officers and men stood at attention, Simon was held by a boy seaman while a citation was read out by P/O George Griffiths, and Able Seacat Simon was awarded the Amethyst campaign ribbon. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(cat)Simon the cat wearing the Dickon medal for animal gallantry; the only cat so honored!