One New Zealand infantry battalion which went to the Middle East in 1940 included an unusual member — an Australian bull terrier dog named Major. He was commissioned in 1941, was wounded in the desert in 1942 and then rose to the rank of major, his promotions, like those of the men, recorded in army routine orders.
At the request of the men he served with, the New Zealand Government agreed to waive the law that would have prevented Major from returning to New Zealand when the war was over. Sadly, he died in the winter of 1944 and was buried in Italy alongside two other officers from his regiment. One dog did make it home, however, a small black Italian pooch they called Duda, who was 'captured' near Tobruk and became 'the happiest prisoner of war in the Middle East'.
The Four-Legged Major is a poignant, compelling and often very funny story. Graham Spencer writes not merely of a loyal and courageous dog; he pays tribute, also, to 'the men and women who knew loss, loneliness and hardship unknown to those who followed them'. This is a moving history, often told most eloquently through excerpts from the letters of an infantry captain to the woman who waited six years for him to come home.
This is a book for all those who love animals and for all the many New Zealanders whose lives were touched by the war. When the author completed his research for The Four-Legged Major, he found himself prouder to be a New Zealander than when he began. Readers of this very special story will feel the same.