As War Horse continues to leave audiences emotional at Milton Keynes Theatre, Total MK takes a look at the tragic stories of the real war horses...
Joey, the central character in War Horse, was one in a million. No, not true. Joey was one in at least six million, though some estimates say many more.
What is known about the number of horses and mules that served alongside their human counterparts, is that millions died in battle; either through terrible injuries, disease, starvation or sheer exhaustion.
So why, in the 20th century, with technology fast out pacing horse power, were they there in the midst of conflict at all?
When war broke out the cavalry was still the British Army’s first line of defence.
Pretty soon it became clear that a man on a horse was no substitute for heavy artillery. But supply horses pulled ammunition, general supplies and ambulances and teams of gun horses pulled artillery pieces that weighed as much as a Black Cab taxi.
While horses and mules were deployed on all of the WW1 battlefields, most of them saw action in France.
In the first twelve days of the war, 165,000 of the best draft horses in Great Britain were transported across the Channel but before long, it became necessary to ship more than 1,000 horses a week from North America, many of which were half-wild and had been rounded up straight off the open plain.
When the war finally ended in 1918, and millions of soldiers were able to go home, things didn’t look so good for many of the mules and horses that had survived. While officers’ mounts were guaranteed a return ticket, of the others, only the youngest and fittest animals were brought back to the UK.
Some were auctioned off to farmers on the continent but the oldest and most worn out made their final journey to the knackers’ yard.
There were some happier endings though. The ‘Old Blacks’, a team of six horses that survived the whole war, were chosen to pull the carriage of the Unknown Soldier at the Armistice Day parade in 1920.
A few others lived out their days peacefully in stables owned by The Horse Trust including Roger who, when the guns fell silent, was found wandering in No Man’s Land just like Joey in War Horse.
War Horse continues at Milton Keynes Theatre until October 6.
To book your seat to see the production during its MK stay click here
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