For anyone who has been watching the new BBC1 drama series, 'The Village,' one of the storylines in last Sunday's episode focused on the Army's requirement for horses during the war, a theme that has garnered much interest since the dramatisation of Michael Morpugo's 'War Horse.' The increasing mechanisation and static nature of trench warfare saw a phasing out of the once pivotal role of the cavalry. The last charge of the First World War on the Western Front took place on 14th July 1916 at High Wood during the Battle of the Somme; an effective but costly strategy which saw 102 men killed and the loss of 130 horses. But horses were still badly needed - for transportation and haulage - and back in Britain, as well in North & South America, New Zealand, Portugal, Indian and China - men from the Army Remount Service, part of the Army Service Corps, would track down available horses which would be acquired through compulsory purchase.
Throughout the war, via four main depots in Britain, the Army Remount Service had over 340,000 horses pass through their hands. Those who joined the service tended to be older, more experienced soldiers such as Lieutenant Mike Rimington, late of the 37th Lancers who had seen action in the Boer War.
Rimington, the horse-whisperer of his day, tamed them all. Having reformed their ways, we can't help wondering if Simon, Belle, Winston, Crippen et al survived the war. Estimates vary but it is thought that around 285,000 horses and mules were killed, or lost at sea during the Great War.
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Luci Gosling
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