Broughty Ferry fisherman David Smith would be feted as a hero of the animal world today.
Back in 1915, however, his actions in saving a terrified dog from U-boat fire were all in a day’s work.
Mr Smith, of 21 Fort Street, intervened to stop the dog going down with the first Dundee vessel sunk in the First World War.
He was one of 10 crew on the Sceptre, the pride of the city’s fishing fleet, which could steam at 10 knots.
It was so swift it could outrun German submarines off the Angus coast but its luck ran out on May 6 off the Bell Rock.
At dawn Captain Charles Lorimer heard a shot, took the trawl on board and made for a distant
Norwegian steamer.
Then, through the morning gloom, a submarine appeared and hoisted the German flag. Captain Lorimer steamed away but when he realised the U-boat was too close, he stopped.
The German commander ordered them into a small boat and made sure they had enough provisions for the journey.
When he realised they did not have a sail, the
German told them to make for the Norwegian vessel, which would take them to Norway.
It was clear the Germans would destroy the Sceptre but David Smith heard the whimpering of the dog and dashed back to the cabin and bundled it into the boat.
Six shots in six minutes sent the Sceptre to the
bottom while the Germans smoked on deck.
On board the Norwegian vessel they were greeted with coffee and cigarettes. The captain defied his
German captors and landed the men in Peterhead.
The crew arrived at the port later that day and were home with their families that night.
Earlier that week, a U-boat had sunk nine Hull trawlers in similar circumstances.
What seems remarkable now is that all the rescued men spoke highly of their treatment by the Germans.
U-boat crews made sure the fisherman had
compasses and food and sometimes shared their own rations. Then, of course, they blasted the boats.