Meet Jessie the donkey who 'saved Christmas' in Shrewsbury during the Second World War

Jessie the donkey helped deliver sackfuls of cards and gifts in Shrewsbury in December 1941 with her devoted carer, Private ‘Taffy’ Ellis.

Now a painting of Jessie has been unearthed at the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum at Shrewsbury Castle.

Dr Robert MacKinnon thought that with Christmas just around the corner, it would be the perfect time to re-tell the tale of the little donkey plodding Shrewsbury’s dusty roads with her precious load.

Sacks of greetings cards and heart-warming gifts streamed their way into the Royal Mail sorting office at Shrewsbury. 

Without extra help, the sheer amount of mail threatened to overwhelm the delivery staff. Enter Jessie and Private Ellis, at the ready to lend a hoof and a hand.

Jessie was an army donkey and Private Ellis a soldier in the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry (KSLI). Both normally worked together delivering soldier’s kit bags between Shrewsbury railway station and the Flaxmill Maltings, which at the time was a military training centre.

A photograph in the archives of the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum shows Jessie and Private Ellis posing for the camera whilst out delivering the 1941 Christmas mail. 

Dr MacKinnon was able to shed further light on the photograph using old newspaper reports.

“Jessie is shown with her normal cart. Apparently she could pull a bit under half a tonne. 

“Donkeys are capable of carrying heavy loads relative to their size. This, and their ability for quick changes in speed, would have meant Jesse was an ideal Santa’s little helper on the streets of Shrewsbury!

“Jessie was groomed everyday and Private Ellis, an ex-miner from the South Wales coalfields, cared a lot about her. Many years later he would talk fondly to others about Jessie. She would not leave for work until consuming a ‘grass roll’ and had ‘shaken herself into a comfortable roughness’, meaning she had prepared her body for the day ahead. 

“Private Ellis had trained Jessie at the outbreak of the war for her kit carrying role. She is about four years old in the picture.”

Just after Jessie’s retirement in 1946, she was painted by Lady Sybil Grant of Pitchford Hall for the officer’s mess (leisure space) at Copthorne Barracks, Shrewsbury. 

The painting, an oil on canvas, is now in the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum collection. It depicts Jessie’s head set among bright dazzling flowers.

“Jessie’s portrait is striking,” said Dr MacKinnon. “Its bright coloured flowers, which probably reflect senses of Jessie, stand in contrast with the urban, smoky street environment in which she toiled.

“Jessie lived out her remaining years at Pitchford Hall, just outside of Shrewsbury as Lady Sybil adopted her.”

Jessie’s story, with the lovingly produced painting, is striking and heart-warming for Dr MacKinnon. “Donkeys across time and cultures have regularly been characterised unjustly and have received little recognition for their vital services rendered to us humans,” he said.

“For example, donkeys have frequently been labelled stupid and associated with backwardness and poverty, this has had harmful effects. Such labelling and associations have influenced how people treat these animals and how they behave towards humans they describe as ‘donkeys’ ‘asses’ or ‘mules’.

“Thankfully, by all accounts Jessie was treated very well at the military training centre and not only by Private Ellis, but by other soldiers. 

“One time when Jessie fell ill, a soldier felt compelled to write her a loving poem. Jessie’s stable bore the title ‘Donkeyville Jessie’’.”

To see the painting of Jessie and other Shropshire war exhibits, visit the Soldiers of Shropshire Museum at Shrewsbury Castle. For more information, visit soldiersofshropshire.co.uk/