Mascot on guard, First Regiment of the Nebraska National Guard at Kearney, Nebraska.

In many countries, army regiments often kept official and unofficial pets that were popular amongst soldiers in wartime. Sometimes pets took part in military activities – that’s how messenger dogs trained for delivering messages emerged. Mascots cheered up soldiers and helped to cope with stress and personal loss, common emotions during the war. Some countries implemented the practice of bringing animals that served as national symbols to the frontier so as to remind soldiers what are they fighting for. For instance, shots below illustrate kangaroos in Egypt, that were brought by Australian army. The collection includes images from Australian War Memorial, US Library of Congress and National Library of Scotland.