It wasn't just Simpson the donkey that played a key role in helping soldiers at war, there were other animals too.
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Dogs, elephants, pigeons, camels, cats and now even dolphins are being used to assist soldiers in wars.
As a mark of respect, an event for War Animal Day will be held at Campbell Town on Sunday to pay tribute to those animals lost at war. It is the first of its kind in Tasmania.
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Northern Tasmanian Light Horse Troop coordinator Terese Binns said people don't realise the role animals played in during war.
"Sometimes dogs were used as messenger dogs to take messages from the front back to headquarters. Sometimes they was sent out on the battlefield to locate wounded and dead. Dogs were rather important," she said.
"They've recently used donkeys in Afghanistan to get the equipment up in the hills. I have a photo of an elephant with a machine gun on, which I think was WWII.
"Vietnam forces used elephants actually to cart gear well into the mountains. Animals, such as elephants, were taken out of the zoo in Europe to actually move logs and do work sort of like that."
Cats were used to catch rats on ships, and as a companion animal. Now, dolphins are being used to locate mines under water.
Ms Binns said everyone was familiar with what the red poppy meant, but people were less familiar with purple poppies for animals and white for peace.
To bring attention to this, she has worked with the Cressy Country Women's Association for the past nine months to knit a jacket covered in purple poppies for her dog, Coco.
National War Animal Day was gazetted in 2018 to fall annually on February 24. The first time the event will be commemorated in Tasmania will be a day early.
At the event, horses and dogs will be present, along with 32 pigeons being released to represent the amount of pigeons that received Dickins Awards.
An Australian War Animal Memorial Organisation plaque will also be unveiled. The plaque was made possible through the Northern Midlands Council and a grant from the Teddy Sheean Memorial Grants Program.
The service will be held at the Campbell Town Memorial Precinct at 11am.
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Journalist at The Examiner Newspaper
Journalist at The Examiner Newspaper
