The only dog ever enlisted in the Royal Navy was Just Nuisance, a Great Dane that served in HMS Afrikander, a shore establishment in Simon’s Town (South Africa) between 1939 and 1944. His escapades and heroics – some of them perhaps with a touch of creative licence – are recounted in this book. And you can read a summary of them here on this blog post from the Library at the maritime museum.

When enlisted, Nuisance’s trade was listed as ‘bone-crusher’, whilst his religious denomination was rather uncharitably given as ‘scrounger’.