Sergeant Billy was a goat who travelled with a group of Canadian soldiers to the muddy trenches of France during World War I.
At the beginning of World War I, a train full of soldiers stop in a small prairie town and spy a goat named Billy. The soldiers ask Daisy, the young girl who owns the goat, if they can borrow him.They believe he will bring them good luck in the war. Daisy agrees and so Billy travels to training camp with the soldiers. They decide to call him Private Billy.
Private Billy marched and trained with the soldiers of the 5th Battalion. When it was time go to England then on to war, the Colonel told his soldiers they could not take Billy. However, they couldn't part with their mascot and they managed to sneak him onto the ship.
In the trenches, Private Billy didn't seem to mind the mud, the rats or the bad food. When rations were low, Private Billy ate the colonel's papers! For that he was arrested and put in jail. But Private Billy was forgiven when the colonel saw how unhappy his men were without their mascot. Private Billy was promoted to sergeant for his role in the battalion. At Ypres, he captured an enemy soldier. At Hill 63, Sergeant Billy got trench foot and at Hill 70 he was shell-shocked. He even saved some soldiers lives at Festubert when he butted them into a trench, saving them from an incoming shell. He even became a decorated war hero being awarded the Mons Star.
After the war, the Fifth Battalion returned Sergeant Billy to Daisy in 1919.
Discussion
Sergeant Billy is the true story of a goat adopted by a group of soldiers as they passed through Saskatchewan, enroute to war. It is a story reminiscent to that of Winnie, a bear cub found by Harry Colebourn at a train station and who would become Winnie the Pooh,
Billy the goat was adopted by the 5th Battalion C.E.F. in 1914 as the soldiers headed east by train.The battalion was organized on August 10, 1914 and headed by train to Camp Valcartier in Quebec. On the way, the train stopped at Broadview, Saskatchewan where they saw Daisy Curwain and her goat Bill. The men wanted Bill as their mascot and Daisy agreed.
After their training at Valcartier, they travelled with Billy on the S.S. Lapland at Quebec in a convoy with naval escort from Gaspe" on October 3, 1914. They arrived at Plymouth on October 14, 1914 and disembarked at Devonmouth on October 20th. The battalion spent the winter of 1914-15 training on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England.
When the battalion received orders to go to the front, they were told animals were not allowed to be brought along. The men, determined to bring along their mascot, purchased a crate of oranges from a woman and Billy was placed into the crate and spirited onto the ship. The battalion travelled on the S.S. Lake Michigan arriving at St. Nazaire, France on February 14, 1915.
Life in the trenches appealed to Billy who loved canteen beer and often ate any papers he found. All of the events described in Messier's delightful picture book actually happened. Messier tells all the basic facts of Billy the goat's service in World War II. At the back is a short section on animals in World War I along with some photographs of Sergeant Billy with his beloved troops and on display in the Broadview Museum in Saskatchewan. Canadian artist, Kass Reich handpainted the illustrations using gouache and then added details digitally.
Sergeant Billy is another interesting picture book that highlights the role animals have in helping soldiers during war. In Sergeant Billy's case, he not only helped with morale but even saved the lives of some soldiers.
Book Details:
Sergeant Billy: The True Story of THE GOAT Who Went To War by Mireille Messier
New York: Tundra Books 2019
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