He is one of the most celebrated canine heroes of war, with 20 parachute jumps to his name and a citation for gallantry behind enemy lines. But the story of Rob the SAS dog — one of the highlights of the Imperial War Museum London’s exhibition of courageous animals — has been exposed as a hoax.

Rob, a collie officially known as war dog No 471/322, was said to have saved the lives of commandos on raids in Italy and North Africa during the Second World War by licking their cheeks to wake them at signs of danger. But his legendary reputation has been debunked by an officer who observed the dog’s war service first hand at the SAS base in Wivenhoe Park, Essex.

Quentin “Jimmy” Hughes, a former SAS training officer who was awarded the Military Cross and Bar for a raid and subsequent escape in Italy, revealed the hoax in his autobiographical account of the SAS, Who Cares Who Wins?

Far from doing 20 parachute drops, Rob did little more than act as a companion for Tom Burt, the quartermaster for 2nd SAS. His reputation was concocted when Rob’s owners, who had lent him to the Army Veterinary and Remount Services to help the war effort, wrote asking if they could have their dog back.

Burt, who had grown attached to the dog, was upset at the prospect of losing him, so he and Hughes contrived to keep him in the regiment by sending him on a parachute jump. Hughes would then write to the family to say that Rob’s services were indispensable.

“We had a suitable parachute harness and I phoned through to the RAF and made arrangements for Rob to have a short flight,” Hughes wrote in his memoir. “Unfortunately, quite a strong wind blew up during the flight and the RAF decided it would be dangerous to drop Rob on that day.”

Hughes resolved to write the letter regardless, and thought that would be the end of the matter, but Rob’s owners were so proud that they passed the letter on to the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), which awarded the dog the Dickin Medal for Gallantry — commonly described as the animals’ Victoria Cross.

On February 3, 1945, Rob was taken to London to receive the medal with the citation: “For service including 20 parachute jumps while serving with Infantry in North Africa and SAS Regiment in Italy.”

The medal and an oil painting of the collie are the highlight of the dog section of the The Animals’ War exhibition.

Hughes, who went on to become a renowned architectural scholar, died in 2004, but his friend and colleague Mickey King remembers the former officer laughing about the hoax. “Quentin said that nobody survived 20 parachute drops, let alone a dog. You were lucky to survive three.”

The museum is reluctant to change the exhibition without further evidence. A spokeswoman said: “The information was taken in good faith from the PDSA citation.”

The PDSA was re-examining the medal yesterday. “Nominations come in from a soldier, usually a commanding officer. When they come to the PDSA they are always considered at the highest level. We are not taking this lightly.”

Rob died at home on January 18, 1952.

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