Care home residents honour war hero donkey who became an iconic Peterborough mascot

Residents and staff from a Peterborough care home have been remembering a donkey described as a “much loved hero".

Close to a dozen people from Lavender House Care Home attended a memorial at Central Park to pay tribute to Jimmy, a decorated animal war hero and RSPCA fundraiser, who became the city’s unofficial mascot.

As well as laying roses and lillies, the residents left hand-made ‘thank you’ cards on Jimmy’s headstone.

Lavender House’s activities coordinator Alex Wehr told the Peterborough Telegraph that the idea for the tribute came after he noticed an upcoming awareness day on his calendar called ‘Heroes Day’.

“We asked the residents who their hero was”, Alex explained, “and they said ‘Jimmy the donkey’”.

Mr Wehr, 63, told the Peterborough Telegraph why the residents, many of whom have dementia, wanted to honour Jimmy’s memory.

“Our residents have been going to Central Park on a regular basis for years and they see Jimmy’s grave all the time”.

Jimmy was born in June 1916, during some of the bloodiest fighting of the First World War, after his mother – who carried supplies from the rear to the frontline – was fatally wounded by an enemy shell.

As the Battle of the Somme raged, soldiers of 1st Scottish Rifles delivered the soon to be orphaned foal and christened him Jimmy.

The much-loved donkey became the Scottish Rifles’ unofficial mascot, boosting morale and bringing cheer to the beleaguered men. It’s said that he would even raise his front leg in salute when greeting each soldier.

The city’s most well-known mascot

Wounded seven times during his military career, Jimmy was the only donkey to be decorated for his service, proudly brandishing a brow band embellished with chevrons and stripes.

Following the war’s end, Jimmy was demobbed in 1919 and then purchased by the branch secretary of the Peterborough RSPCA (Mrs Heath) in 1920 for the princely sum of £7.

Jimmy’s new role saw him helping raise money for the RSPCA by pulling a wooden carriage which local children could ride in at community events and commemorative flag days.

It is reported that he was so well loved that he was allowed to graze on common land (the grassed area in Broadway close to where Clifton House is today) where he had his own hut.

As the city’s most well-known mascot, Jimmy was hugely successful at raising funds for the RSPCA. Indeed, he was so well known that he had his own weekly column in The Peterborough Advertiser that detailed how many donations had been made directly on the back of his efforts.

Jimmy lived to a ripe old age. Upon his death, aged 26, on 10 May 1943, he was laid to rest in Central Park where a memorial stone was laid. Sadly, the site became unkept and fell into a state of disrepair over subsequent years. In 2003 the headstone was restored and a special memorial service was held to mark the occasion. 200 people attended, including two representatives from Jimmy’s old regiment, the Scottish Rifles.