His name was Jack. But, for his heroic activity, the people of Swansea called him “Swansea Jack”.
Let me tell you the whole story of Swansea Jack.
Jack was born in 1930, and his first owner was Tolfa Davis.
Jack got into a bit of trouble here in parkland for being a bit over playful with the ducks. The puppy was a bit too boisterous for Mr. Davis. So Jack was rehomed into the care of William Thomas when he was about six months old.
This is where the story really begins in Swansea's north docks. As a puppy, Jack was actually afraid of water. But his new owner encouraged him to go for a swim with some local boys, and he really got a taste for it and got into the habit of dragging these boys by the collar to the shore.
The first rescue happened in the north dock in June 1931. Jack rescued a 12-year-old boy who was dumping some rubbish into the north dock and got into a bit of a fight and ended up in the water. Jack jumped straight in and dragged him to the edge. This went mostly unreported.
The second rescue was one that began to establish Jack as the hero dog. Shortly after the first rescue, a swimmer got in trouble at Swansea west pier. Jack jumped in straight to the rescue. This time there were lots of people to witness Jack's life-saving in action and his name appeared in the local paper by August 1934.
Jack had rescued 14 people by this time. Jack and his adventures were getting national press. These acts of heroism didn't stop at helping humans. Jack once rescued information, from a muddy riverbank, and on another occasion pulled a sack from the water which contained a couple of puppies.
Jack was awarded the bravest dog of the year and silver cup from the PDSA. He is the only dog ever to be awarded two bronze medals of the k9 version of the Victoria cross by the canine defense league, now known as the dog's trust.
There was an award ceremony held right here at Swansea guildhall for Jack and afterward, they had pictures on these very steps. At only seven years old, Jack swallowed poison and suffered a long and painful death. It was not known if this was deliberate or just a careless placement of rat poison.
But, the community was outraged. The canine defense league was so angry about this unnecessary death of a hero that they offered a 25-pound reward for any information, which would be worth about three thousand pounds today.
In his lifetime, the brave rescuer Swansea Jack saved the lives of 27 people and two dogs from drowning.
Jack was originally buried with his owner William in the back garden of his house in rogers street. In the year 2000, Jack was named dog of the century by newfound friends of Bristol, who trained domestic dogs and aquatic rescue techniques.
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Swansea Jack with his trophies.
Swansea Jack with his master William Thomas.
