If You Should Ever Be In Simon's Town,

which is near Cape Town in South Africa, 

 you will see a statue of a member of the Royal Navy, who served during World War Two between 1939 and 1944 with HMS Afrikander, a Royal Navy naval base in Simon’s Town, ordinary Seaman Just Nuisance was later promoted to Able Seaman to entitle him to free rations, (including rum), so what is the story behind the only dog to be officially listed as a member of the Royal Navy?

Just Nuisance was a friendly Great Dane that hung around the Simon Town's Naval Base, He grew to be a massive dog - some say about 6.6 ft tall when he stood on his hind legs - and he loved to sleep on top of the gangplanks of docked naval ships, because of his size, the dog presented an unusual obstacle for sailors trying to get on and off the ship, so they affectionately called him "Nuisance." The dog liked to follow sailors when they boarded the train out of town, and the sailors liked having the dog around for the train ride, but not the train conductors, they complained that the dog paid no fares, so they wanted to get rid of him or put him down, the sailors didn't like that idea, but they didn't want to keep paying the dog's fare, what to do? 

well it was allegedly the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, who came up with the perfect solution: Nuisance would be enlisted into the Royal Navy, an enlisted man was entitled to free rail travel and so on 25th August 1939, Just Nuisance was signed up, His surname was given as ‘Nuisance’, first name ‘Just’: his trade was ‘Bonecrusher’ and his religion ‘Scrounger’, this was later changed to ‘Canine Divinity League (Anti-Vivisection)’, Nuisance signed his papers with a paw mark, although an enlisted sailor, Nuisance never went to sea, His duties did however include fundraising and raising morale, a seaman was allocated to Nuisance to ensure he was regularly groomed and to prepare him for appearing at parades wearing his seaman’s hat, He also famously ‘got married’ as a money raising stunt for war funds! 

and had a film made about his exploits in defeating Hitler,

unfortunately Just Nuisance had to be discharged from the Navy for health reasons on 1st January 1944, Nuisance was at some point involved in a car accident, this caused thrombosis, which gradually paralysed him, so on 1 January 1944 he was discharged from the Navy, His condition continued to deteriorate, and on 1 April 1944 he was taken to Simon's Town Naval Hospital where, on the advice of the naval veterinary surgeon, he was put down, the next day he was taken to Klawer Camp, where his body was draped with a Royal Naval White Ensign and he was buried with full naval honours, including a gun salute and the playing of the Last Post, a simple granite headstone marks his grave, which is on the top of the hill at Klawer, at the former SA Navy Signal School, a statue was erected in Jubilee Square in Simon's Town to commemorate his life, the Simon's Town Museum has an exhibition dedicated to his story, and since 2000 there has been an annual parade of Great Danes from which a lookalike is selected, for a better read and a few more of Just Nuisance stories have a look here.