Jane and Jimmy were the mascots of A Battery, 52nd Brigade, RFA, for almost five years. Jimmy and Jane were lucky that one of the soldiers took a special fancy to them, because they were purchased in December 1915 to be fattened for Christmas dinner.
Because some of the soldiers were looking forward to a Christmas goose dinner, they decided to hold a "trial” to determine the fate of the geese. The jury decided that the birds were too cute to eat, and thus began their career as the brigade's mascots.
The birds traveled most of the time with Gunner Grey in the mess cart. They were a comical sight with their heads hanging out of the sides of the mess cart, much to the amusement of the soldiers.
At one point during a battle, both Jane and Jimmy were stolen by a Belgian farmer. Because the soldiers were under heavy fire, they assumed that Jimmy and Jane had been killed. However, the next morning they were found very much alive in the farmer's yard. The farmer refused to say how they got there and the soldiers regained their mascots.
Both Jimmy and Jane stayed with their soldiers until the end of the war. They were taken to the London Zoo after a bit of a delay over whether or not they should be quarantined.