Pickles (dog)

Pickles (2 January 1962/1963 – 28 December 1967) was a famous English black and white dog, known for his role in recovering the stolen Jules Rimet Trophy. before the start of the 1966 Soccer World Cup in England.

Theft of the World Cup

The trophy was stolen during a public display of a rare stamp in Westminster Hall on the morning of Sunday 20 March 1966, just four months before the 1966 Football World Cup in England. England were scheduled for kick-off. The thief ignored the rare stamps, worth £3million, and stole the trophy worth much less. Police received a ransom demand of £15,000. However, when the culprit was arrested, he turned out to be a fake. The trophy was found, seven days later, wrapped in newspaper at the bottom of a hedge in a suburban garden in Beulah Hill, South Norwood, south London, by Pickles during a walk with its owner David Corbett.

When the England football team won the trophy, as a prize Pickles was invited to the celebration banquet and was allowed to lick the plates after the opening banquet. His owner collected a prize of £6000 (which based on rising average incomes and inflation would be approximately £169,000 in 2009). The thief was never caught. For a short period of time Pickles and his owner were suspected. In 2018, the identity of the thief, Englishman Sidney Cugullere, would finally be revealed. Known by the pseudonym Mr. Crafty, he was a common criminal dedicated to robbing post offices, who, at the age of 40, seeing the opportunity, entered Central Hall and, with the help of his brother Reg, easily carried out the crime. robbery.[14][15] When he got home, he showed the trophy to his father, who asked him what he planned to do with it.[13] With the help of his friend Ted Bechley, he tried to demand a ransom from £150,000 to Chairman Joe Mears. However, after his arrest, he finally gave up and abandoned it, being found days later.[15] He was never arrested for it, and only those close to him knew of his authorship, taking the secret to the grave after his death by cancer in 2005. More than a decade later, his own family would reveal the secret.

In 1966 Pickles the dog starred, along with Eric Sykes and June Whitfield, in the film The Spy with a Cold Nose.

A completely fictional version of the story was told in 2006 by ITV. It is a drama written by Michael Chaplin (writer/producer), called Pickles: The Dog Who Won the World Cup, with the voice of Harry Enfield.

Death

Pickles died in 1967, when he strangled himself with his leash while chasing a cat. He was buried in the backyard of his owner's house.