IT was 1914, and Private James Brown had been called up to fight for his country. He’d be heading into the trenches of World War I as part of the 1st North Staffordshire Regiment. In September of that year he said goodbye to his wife and dog, Prince, and left County Cork, Ireland, for France.
His wife, meanwhile, went to London with the dog to await her husband’s return. The dog seemed heartbroken and appeared to desperately miss his master. Mrs. Brown didn’t know what to do. And then Prince disappeared. She searched and searched, trying to find the dog, but to no avail. She feared he’d been killed in some kind of accident.
Though it pained her to do so, Mrs. Brown eventually wrote to her husband to tell him the sad news of the dog’s disappearance and probable death. But the very next day she received a letter from her husband — their correspondence had crossed in the mail. Prince was with him in France, having turned up about two weeks after disappearing!
Private Brown had been returning to his quarters near Armentières when a friend from his battalion called out, “I’ve got your dog here, Jimmy!” Brown was sure the man was joking, but as soon as he saw the dog, he knew it was real. Prince had somehow found his way to his owner in France.
Create a free account to keep reading.
