Faith

Faith was a tabby stray taken in by the rector of St Augustine's Church, near St Paul's Cathedral in London, in 1936. In September 1940, days before the Blitz began, the heavily settled cat carried her newly born kitten down from the upper floors of the rectory to a small recess in the basement, repeatedly returning the kitten there each time staff moved it back upstairs. On the night of 9 September 1940, German bombing destroyed much of the rectory, which caught fire and collapsed — yet Faith was found alive in the recess she had chosen, calmly shielding her kitten amid the rubble and ash. Her apparent foresight in moving to the safest spot in the building captured the public imagination as a symbol of steadfast courage during the war. The Archbishop of Canterbury was among those who honoured her, and she was awarded a special silver medal, sometimes described as a counterpart to the animal bravery awards of the time. Faith died in 1948 and was mourned as one of wartime London's quiet heroes.