Videos by Jane Flynn
This is the recorded presentation of a paper given at the 'Multispecies Knowledges and the Indust... more This is the recorded presentation of a paper given at the 'Multispecies Knowledges and the Industrialization of Animal Exploitation' conference hosted by the University of Turku, Finland, on 2nd - 3rd June 2021.
During The Great War existing systems for the disposal of military animals were found to be insufficient. Between 1914 and 1916, the British Army cast its most debilitated horses by sale to local butchers and abattoirs. However, it had no effective way of disposing of carcasses classed as unfit for human consumption. Thus, the Disposal of Animals Branch was set up to manage the economic and efficient disposal of Army animals wasted by war. This paper will explore how the unprecedented destruction of The Great War lead to the exploitation of life (and death) on an industrial scale. 17 views
This is a pre-recorded presentation of a paper given at the second Uncommon Worlds conference - L... more This is a pre-recorded presentation of a paper given at the second Uncommon Worlds conference - Life With and Without Animals - hosted by the University of Derby on 14th to 16th July 2020.
Topics discussed include: The War's end and the disposal of horses on demobilization; The repatriation of war horses and the civilian dispersal sales; The case study of a veteran war horse and his regiment; The pros and cons of Mechanization; Remembering and Forgetting the war horse. 129 views
This is the recording of a paper given at the 29th International Society for Anthrozoology Annual... more This is the recording of a paper given at the 29th International Society for Anthrozoology Annual Conference hosted by Liverpool University in June 2020.
In 1918, an article in 'The New York Times' reported on the shared experiences of horse and man. It described how horses, like soldiers, felt an understandable reluctance to return to a place where they had been 'frightened or injured'. It argued that horses, like men, were also subject to 'shell-shock'. Many soldiers, not only recognised this shared suffering, but found they were better able to express their own physical and mental strain through the relationships they formed with their horses. 67 views
Books by Jane Flynn
The soldier-horse relationship was nurtured by The British Army because it made the soldier and h... more The soldier-horse relationship was nurtured by The British Army because it made the soldier and his horse into an effective fighting unit. Soldiers and their Horses explores a complex relationship forged between horses and humans in extreme conditions. As both a social history of Britain in the early twentieth century and a history of the British Army, Soldiers and their Horses reconciles the hard pragmatism of war with the imaginative and emotional. By carefully overlapping the civilian and the military, by juxtaposing "sense" and "sentimentality," and by considering institutional policy alongside individual experience, the soldier and his horse are re-instated as co-participators in The Great War. Soldiers and their Horses provides a valuable contribution to current thinking about the role of horses in history.
Conference Presentations by Jane Flynn
ISAZ Conference - Hartpury, 2024
During The Great War horse supply was largely a matter, not of names, but of numbers. The War Off... more During The Great War horse supply was largely a matter, not of names, but of numbers. The War Office saw numbers of horses supplied, numbers on the British Army’s strength, where it would find the thousands more horses, mules and donkeys the War demanded, and how much it would all cost. The personnel of horsed regiments, however, saw their horses from a very different perspective. It was relatively straightforward to think of a horse or mule only as a number while it remained just one of many thousands, but it became increasingly difficult to ignore the character traits that made each animal a ‘person’ once they were issued to their unit. These were named individuals, referred to not as ‘it,’ but as ‘he’ and ‘she.’
Soldiers named horses, who would otherwise have been identified only by a number. The names soldiers bestowed were more often good, solid names for a working animal: Driver Fips’ ‘Billy’ being one such example. However, horses and mules were often named after battles, such as a horse called Mons, or because of a particular character trait, such as a mule named ‘Slogger.’ Indeed, the process of naming both contributed to, and was a reflection of, the shared experiences and growing familiarity that bonded the soldier and his horse into an effective working unit. It is telling that the British Army did not discourage the naming of animals who were, after all, Army property. Rather, it accepted naming as part of a process that bonded soldiers to their horses, and helped develop the sense of ‘ownership’ that ensured its animals were well maintained.
Soldiers and their horses shared the same dangers and hardships for months, and often years. Living and working together, many soldiers developed an almost superstitious attachment to their horses. No wonder then, that when a soldier had a horse he liked and trusted, he guarded it jealously from harm. This was, however, also the tragedy of the soldier-horse relationship, as no matter how much care a soldier took of his horse he had no real control over its fate. That these horses were far from being mere numbers, but were named individuals, only emphasises how fraught the circumstances were in which the soldier-horse relationship was formed. Writing in his diary in September 1918, E.J. Billington expressed concern for one of his drivers knowing, as Fips did not, that his horse was gone. Billington gave no further details as to where or why, but was clearly concerned about how Fips would react. When he referred to the horse of Driver Fips not just as ‘Billy,’ but as as ‘his Billy’ it was because he so closely identified the two with each other. They had been co-participators in the War’s events.
Holloways and Dark Lanes: Re-Horsing the Industrial Evolution of Derbyshire’s Derwent Valley., 2024
The Derwent Valley (World Heritage Site) has been exploited by its human inhabitants for thousand... more The Derwent Valley (World Heritage Site) has been exploited by its human inhabitants for thousands of years. The evidence of farming, mining, quarrying, and manufacturing have all left their mark on its landscape. Cutting through the valley is the River Derwent itself; today flanked by a canal, a railway line, and a main road. The problem of how goods were brought into and out of the valley led to the construction of ever more ingenious methods of transportation. What has tended to be underappreciated is the essential role horses played in this industrial evolution; not only as the primary method of transporting goods and people but in the very construction of what became, in fact, an intricate transportation network. It is perhaps ironic that, today, horses are so often barred from routes and infrastructure they once used and, indeed, brought into being. “Dark lanes” and “hollow ways” have become footpaths. Horses are not welcome on canal tow paths; which are reserved only for walkers and cyclists. Nevertheless, the evidence of their presence is everywhere in this landscape.
Equine Cultures in Transition Past, Present and Future Challenges 22nd - 24th June, , 2021
When Sir John Moore reflected on the Royal Army Veterinary Corps’ recent activities in France and... more When Sir John Moore reflected on the Royal Army Veterinary Corps’ recent activities in France and Belgium it was with both pride and regret. As the Director of a service that had been ‘practically untried’ in 1914, he had seen the RAVC grow to meet the increasing demands imposed upon it. At the War’s end, its focus turned to Disposal on Demobilization: the options being disposal for food and by-products; sale to local populations; or repatriation. In France and Belgium, the Disposal on Demobilization in 1918 and 1919 was later heralded as a ‘triumph’ of ‘humanity, efficiency and economy’ and a consolidation of all the RAVC had learned over four years of war. There was nevertheless regret when Moore remembered the difficult choices that war had forced upon a service whose aim was ‘to cure and not to kill’.
29th International Society for Anthrozoology Annual Conference, 2020
In 1918, an article in 'The New York Times' reported on the shared war experiences of horse and m... more In 1918, an article in 'The New York Times' reported on the shared war experiences of horse and man. It described how horses, like soldiers, felt an understandable reluctance to return to a place where they had been 'frightened or injured'. It argued that horses, like men, were also subject to 'shell-shock'. Many soldiers, not only recognised this shared suffering, but found they were better able to express their own physical and mental strain through the relationships formed with their horses.
Equine History Collective, 'Embodied Equines' Conference, Cal Poly Pomona, USA, Nov., 2019
During The Great War, The British Army increasingly employed mules as artillery and transport ani... more During The Great War, The British Army increasingly employed mules as artillery and transport animals. Mules were widely admired for their resilience and resistance to disease. Soldiers often found the mules challenging to work with, but also respected them for their fortitude and strength of character. While the War Office may only have seen these mules as numbers supplied, to the soldiers who worked with them they were individuals, and as much a part of their units as the men. Soldiers forged close working relationships with their mules, and each knew his animal’s particular quirks and foibles. To the soldiers who worked and lived alongside them, they became ‘Embodied Equines’ and ‘people’ in their own right. Their individuality was reflected in the sheer variety of names the soldiers gave them. These names also illustrate the extent to which the mules were seen as active co-participators in the War’s events. As one soldier affectionately recalled, mules could be ‘most frightful people’.
Between 1914 and 1918 The British Army transported by sea over one million horses and mules from ... more Between 1914 and 1918 The British Army transported by sea over one million horses and mules from around the Globe to every theatre of The Great War. The horses and mules were purchased in the United Kingdom, North America, Canada, South America, South Africa and China. Yet more accompanied the forces of Australia and New Zealand to Egypt and the Indian divisions of the British Army to France. Every horse and mule represented a considerable financial investment; it being estimated that a total £67.5 million was spent on their purchase, training, and delivery between 1914 and 1918. Each of these thousands of horses and mules was also vital to the war effort. It was essential that this precious cargo be protected from avoidable harm.
It is credit to the personnel involved that this expensive living ‘weapon’ was successfully shipped, over great distances, in such numbers, and with such a high degree of success. In addition, astutely devised military regulations ensured that losses were minimised. First-hand accounts enable us to examine how, and how successfully, these Army regulations were implemented. At the War’s end, and when the authorities involved were allowed time to look back on their achievements, it became clear that this command of the world’s horse and mule supply had been a decisive factor in the War’s outcome. The horse and mule were, indeed, ‘a weapon in the hands of the allies’.
Equine Cultures in Transition
Abstract – Open Stream
Dr Jane Flynn
“A Kind of Companionship” A C... more Equine Cultures in Transition
Abstract – Open Stream
Dr Jane Flynn
“A Kind of Companionship” A Critical Study of the Soldier-Horse Relationship in The Great War.
The British Army’s organisation brought the soldier and horse together solely for the purposes of war. However, a perpetual drive for economy and military efficiency also created an environment where the horse and the soldier were treated far more humanely than they had ever been in the Army’s past. The soldier was expected to always put his horse first, just as an officer was expected to put the needs of his men before his own. A soldier whose own needs were met in terms of rations, equipment, clothing, shelter and medical attention was far more inclined to take good care of his horse. Similarly, a horse that was well managed remained serviceable for longer. Soldiers were encouraged to take an active interest in the welfare of their horses and were given sole responsibility for their well-being. When on active service, soldiers lived and worked alongside their horses; sharing war’s dangers and privations. Many soldiers came to think of their horses as “comrades”.
Today, this relationship is often misunderstood. It is sentimentalised and trivialised. Yet the soldier-horse relationship offers us the opportunity to think about the bonds we forge with animals, when we do so, and why. It also encourages us to consider the problematic nature of human-horse interactions past and present. The soldier-horse relationship is a study of human-animal interactions as relevant today as it was one hundred years ago.
Artistic Expressions and The Great War: One Hundred Years On, Hofstra University, New York., 2018
The War Illustrated brought news of The Great War into the home. The war illustrators provided vi... more The War Illustrated brought news of The Great War into the home. The war illustrators provided visually entertaining images of major battles, of acts of heroism, and of moments of drama and pathos. Increasingly, however, photographs were also used and, while it was not yet possible to take cameras into the thick of the action, photographers did capture something of what life on active service was like for the soldier.
Photographs and images of the soldier and his horse also allowed the British public to imagine war. For example, images of the soldier’s care for his horse provided reassurance and comfort, because they implied that he had not been de-humanised by war, and that his capacity for compassion, and kindness survived. The horse was a safe medium through which to portray the aftermath of battle, and to deal with difficult subjects such as death and wounding. Conversely, humorous photographs and illustrations of soldiers and their horses also provided opportunities for some much-needed light relief.
This paper considers how portrayals of the soldier and his horse altered as the War progressed and as public feeling shifted; from dramatic scenes of bravery, to the more contemplative mid-war images of 1916 and 1917. The War Illustrated allows us a privileged glimpse into the emotional lives of the British people as they lived through The Great War.
***
Key Words
Soldier, Horse, Bond, Relationship, Representation, The War Illustrated, The Illustrated Press, The Great War, Morale, Humanity, Photography, Emotion.
New Perspectives, East Midlands Universities Conference, 2013
Critical Perspectives on Animals in Society, The University of Exeter,, 2012
Tied closely to traditional images of warfare and to British National Identity itself, the soldie... more Tied closely to traditional images of warfare and to British National Identity itself, the soldier’s horse came to inhabit a space between myth and reality, in which it was often imbued with allegorical meaning and symbolism far beyond the reality of its physical existence. The horse had many faces, but in its popular portrayal as the recipient of the soldier’s compassion and kindness, it provided consolation by inferring that such humanity would be afforded to the soldier himself. In effect, it became a means through which to portray the wider tensions and concerns of the British at war. It is testament to the power of this desire for reassurance, that these portrayals have tended to eclipse the real experience of soldier and horse, which was starkly at odds with these romantic portrayals.
New Horizons, The University of Derby, 2012
The working relationship between a soldier and his horse was based upon mutual trust and respect.... more The working relationship between a soldier and his horse was based upon mutual trust and respect. It was nurtured by the British Army because it made the combination a far more effective tool in warfare. This was in no way sentimental, but born out of a drive for economy, pragmatism, military success.
The soldier-horse relationship also inhabits a space between myth and reality. During The Great War, the soldier's care for his horse was used to portray his selflessness, stoicism, and kindness amidst the inhumanity of war. He became a knight for the modern ear, through whom the realities of war were more safely portrayed.
Today, the 'war horse' lives on, but under threat of 'disneyfication'. The myth must be addressed if this once crucial, partnership is not to be stripped of its original complexity.
The Importance of PhD Research, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, 2010, 2010
Book Reviews by Jane Flynn
Equine History Collective , 2018
Ann Hyland's book The WarHorse in the Modern Era: The Boer War to the Second Millennium is the th... more Ann Hyland's book The WarHorse in the Modern Era: The Boer War to the Second Millennium is the third and last in a series that together cover the role of horses in military history from the Medieval period to the present century.
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/135529867/posts/1062
Between 1840 and 1869 almost three hundred thousand
men, women, and children undertook an epic ov... more Between 1840 and 1869 almost three hundred thousand
men, women, and children undertook an epic overland
journey across North America in search of new lives
and new opportunities. This voluntary human emigration
has been well documented. However, until now,
nothing had been said about the tens of thousands of
oxen, horses, and mules who enabled them to accomplish
the journey. Diana Ahmad’s book addresses this oversight
by writing animals back into this important period
of North America’s history.
Uploads
Videos by Jane Flynn
During The Great War existing systems for the disposal of military animals were found to be insufficient. Between 1914 and 1916, the British Army cast its most debilitated horses by sale to local butchers and abattoirs. However, it had no effective way of disposing of carcasses classed as unfit for human consumption. Thus, the Disposal of Animals Branch was set up to manage the economic and efficient disposal of Army animals wasted by war. This paper will explore how the unprecedented destruction of The Great War lead to the exploitation of life (and death) on an industrial scale.
Topics discussed include: The War's end and the disposal of horses on demobilization; The repatriation of war horses and the civilian dispersal sales; The case study of a veteran war horse and his regiment; The pros and cons of Mechanization; Remembering and Forgetting the war horse.
In 1918, an article in 'The New York Times' reported on the shared experiences of horse and man. It described how horses, like soldiers, felt an understandable reluctance to return to a place where they had been 'frightened or injured'. It argued that horses, like men, were also subject to 'shell-shock'. Many soldiers, not only recognised this shared suffering, but found they were better able to express their own physical and mental strain through the relationships they formed with their horses.
Books by Jane Flynn
Conference Presentations by Jane Flynn
Soldiers named horses, who would otherwise have been identified only by a number. The names soldiers bestowed were more often good, solid names for a working animal: Driver Fips’ ‘Billy’ being one such example. However, horses and mules were often named after battles, such as a horse called Mons, or because of a particular character trait, such as a mule named ‘Slogger.’ Indeed, the process of naming both contributed to, and was a reflection of, the shared experiences and growing familiarity that bonded the soldier and his horse into an effective working unit. It is telling that the British Army did not discourage the naming of animals who were, after all, Army property. Rather, it accepted naming as part of a process that bonded soldiers to their horses, and helped develop the sense of ‘ownership’ that ensured its animals were well maintained.
Soldiers and their horses shared the same dangers and hardships for months, and often years. Living and working together, many soldiers developed an almost superstitious attachment to their horses. No wonder then, that when a soldier had a horse he liked and trusted, he guarded it jealously from harm. This was, however, also the tragedy of the soldier-horse relationship, as no matter how much care a soldier took of his horse he had no real control over its fate. That these horses were far from being mere numbers, but were named individuals, only emphasises how fraught the circumstances were in which the soldier-horse relationship was formed. Writing in his diary in September 1918, E.J. Billington expressed concern for one of his drivers knowing, as Fips did not, that his horse was gone. Billington gave no further details as to where or why, but was clearly concerned about how Fips would react. When he referred to the horse of Driver Fips not just as ‘Billy,’ but as as ‘his Billy’ it was because he so closely identified the two with each other. They had been co-participators in the War’s events.
It is credit to the personnel involved that this expensive living ‘weapon’ was successfully shipped, over great distances, in such numbers, and with such a high degree of success. In addition, astutely devised military regulations ensured that losses were minimised. First-hand accounts enable us to examine how, and how successfully, these Army regulations were implemented. At the War’s end, and when the authorities involved were allowed time to look back on their achievements, it became clear that this command of the world’s horse and mule supply had been a decisive factor in the War’s outcome. The horse and mule were, indeed, ‘a weapon in the hands of the allies’.
Abstract – Open Stream
Dr Jane Flynn
“A Kind of Companionship” A Critical Study of the Soldier-Horse Relationship in The Great War.
The British Army’s organisation brought the soldier and horse together solely for the purposes of war. However, a perpetual drive for economy and military efficiency also created an environment where the horse and the soldier were treated far more humanely than they had ever been in the Army’s past. The soldier was expected to always put his horse first, just as an officer was expected to put the needs of his men before his own. A soldier whose own needs were met in terms of rations, equipment, clothing, shelter and medical attention was far more inclined to take good care of his horse. Similarly, a horse that was well managed remained serviceable for longer. Soldiers were encouraged to take an active interest in the welfare of their horses and were given sole responsibility for their well-being. When on active service, soldiers lived and worked alongside their horses; sharing war’s dangers and privations. Many soldiers came to think of their horses as “comrades”.
Today, this relationship is often misunderstood. It is sentimentalised and trivialised. Yet the soldier-horse relationship offers us the opportunity to think about the bonds we forge with animals, when we do so, and why. It also encourages us to consider the problematic nature of human-horse interactions past and present. The soldier-horse relationship is a study of human-animal interactions as relevant today as it was one hundred years ago.
Photographs and images of the soldier and his horse also allowed the British public to imagine war. For example, images of the soldier’s care for his horse provided reassurance and comfort, because they implied that he had not been de-humanised by war, and that his capacity for compassion, and kindness survived. The horse was a safe medium through which to portray the aftermath of battle, and to deal with difficult subjects such as death and wounding. Conversely, humorous photographs and illustrations of soldiers and their horses also provided opportunities for some much-needed light relief.
This paper considers how portrayals of the soldier and his horse altered as the War progressed and as public feeling shifted; from dramatic scenes of bravery, to the more contemplative mid-war images of 1916 and 1917. The War Illustrated allows us a privileged glimpse into the emotional lives of the British people as they lived through The Great War.
***
Key Words
Soldier, Horse, Bond, Relationship, Representation, The War Illustrated, The Illustrated Press, The Great War, Morale, Humanity, Photography, Emotion.
The soldier-horse relationship also inhabits a space between myth and reality. During The Great War, the soldier's care for his horse was used to portray his selflessness, stoicism, and kindness amidst the inhumanity of war. He became a knight for the modern ear, through whom the realities of war were more safely portrayed.
Today, the 'war horse' lives on, but under threat of 'disneyfication'. The myth must be addressed if this once crucial, partnership is not to be stripped of its original complexity.
Book Reviews by Jane Flynn
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/135529867/posts/1062
men, women, and children undertook an epic overland
journey across North America in search of new lives
and new opportunities. This voluntary human emigration
has been well documented. However, until now,
nothing had been said about the tens of thousands of
oxen, horses, and mules who enabled them to accomplish
the journey. Diana Ahmad’s book addresses this oversight
by writing animals back into this important period
of North America’s history.
During The Great War existing systems for the disposal of military animals were found to be insufficient. Between 1914 and 1916, the British Army cast its most debilitated horses by sale to local butchers and abattoirs. However, it had no effective way of disposing of carcasses classed as unfit for human consumption. Thus, the Disposal of Animals Branch was set up to manage the economic and efficient disposal of Army animals wasted by war. This paper will explore how the unprecedented destruction of The Great War lead to the exploitation of life (and death) on an industrial scale.
Topics discussed include: The War's end and the disposal of horses on demobilization; The repatriation of war horses and the civilian dispersal sales; The case study of a veteran war horse and his regiment; The pros and cons of Mechanization; Remembering and Forgetting the war horse.
In 1918, an article in 'The New York Times' reported on the shared experiences of horse and man. It described how horses, like soldiers, felt an understandable reluctance to return to a place where they had been 'frightened or injured'. It argued that horses, like men, were also subject to 'shell-shock'. Many soldiers, not only recognised this shared suffering, but found they were better able to express their own physical and mental strain through the relationships they formed with their horses.
Soldiers named horses, who would otherwise have been identified only by a number. The names soldiers bestowed were more often good, solid names for a working animal: Driver Fips’ ‘Billy’ being one such example. However, horses and mules were often named after battles, such as a horse called Mons, or because of a particular character trait, such as a mule named ‘Slogger.’ Indeed, the process of naming both contributed to, and was a reflection of, the shared experiences and growing familiarity that bonded the soldier and his horse into an effective working unit. It is telling that the British Army did not discourage the naming of animals who were, after all, Army property. Rather, it accepted naming as part of a process that bonded soldiers to their horses, and helped develop the sense of ‘ownership’ that ensured its animals were well maintained.
Soldiers and their horses shared the same dangers and hardships for months, and often years. Living and working together, many soldiers developed an almost superstitious attachment to their horses. No wonder then, that when a soldier had a horse he liked and trusted, he guarded it jealously from harm. This was, however, also the tragedy of the soldier-horse relationship, as no matter how much care a soldier took of his horse he had no real control over its fate. That these horses were far from being mere numbers, but were named individuals, only emphasises how fraught the circumstances were in which the soldier-horse relationship was formed. Writing in his diary in September 1918, E.J. Billington expressed concern for one of his drivers knowing, as Fips did not, that his horse was gone. Billington gave no further details as to where or why, but was clearly concerned about how Fips would react. When he referred to the horse of Driver Fips not just as ‘Billy,’ but as as ‘his Billy’ it was because he so closely identified the two with each other. They had been co-participators in the War’s events.
It is credit to the personnel involved that this expensive living ‘weapon’ was successfully shipped, over great distances, in such numbers, and with such a high degree of success. In addition, astutely devised military regulations ensured that losses were minimised. First-hand accounts enable us to examine how, and how successfully, these Army regulations were implemented. At the War’s end, and when the authorities involved were allowed time to look back on their achievements, it became clear that this command of the world’s horse and mule supply had been a decisive factor in the War’s outcome. The horse and mule were, indeed, ‘a weapon in the hands of the allies’.
Abstract – Open Stream
Dr Jane Flynn
“A Kind of Companionship” A Critical Study of the Soldier-Horse Relationship in The Great War.
The British Army’s organisation brought the soldier and horse together solely for the purposes of war. However, a perpetual drive for economy and military efficiency also created an environment where the horse and the soldier were treated far more humanely than they had ever been in the Army’s past. The soldier was expected to always put his horse first, just as an officer was expected to put the needs of his men before his own. A soldier whose own needs were met in terms of rations, equipment, clothing, shelter and medical attention was far more inclined to take good care of his horse. Similarly, a horse that was well managed remained serviceable for longer. Soldiers were encouraged to take an active interest in the welfare of their horses and were given sole responsibility for their well-being. When on active service, soldiers lived and worked alongside their horses; sharing war’s dangers and privations. Many soldiers came to think of their horses as “comrades”.
Today, this relationship is often misunderstood. It is sentimentalised and trivialised. Yet the soldier-horse relationship offers us the opportunity to think about the bonds we forge with animals, when we do so, and why. It also encourages us to consider the problematic nature of human-horse interactions past and present. The soldier-horse relationship is a study of human-animal interactions as relevant today as it was one hundred years ago.
Photographs and images of the soldier and his horse also allowed the British public to imagine war. For example, images of the soldier’s care for his horse provided reassurance and comfort, because they implied that he had not been de-humanised by war, and that his capacity for compassion, and kindness survived. The horse was a safe medium through which to portray the aftermath of battle, and to deal with difficult subjects such as death and wounding. Conversely, humorous photographs and illustrations of soldiers and their horses also provided opportunities for some much-needed light relief.
This paper considers how portrayals of the soldier and his horse altered as the War progressed and as public feeling shifted; from dramatic scenes of bravery, to the more contemplative mid-war images of 1916 and 1917. The War Illustrated allows us a privileged glimpse into the emotional lives of the British people as they lived through The Great War.
***
Key Words
Soldier, Horse, Bond, Relationship, Representation, The War Illustrated, The Illustrated Press, The Great War, Morale, Humanity, Photography, Emotion.
The soldier-horse relationship also inhabits a space between myth and reality. During The Great War, the soldier's care for his horse was used to portray his selflessness, stoicism, and kindness amidst the inhumanity of war. He became a knight for the modern ear, through whom the realities of war were more safely portrayed.
Today, the 'war horse' lives on, but under threat of 'disneyfication'. The myth must be addressed if this once crucial, partnership is not to be stripped of its original complexity.
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/135529867/posts/1062
men, women, and children undertook an epic overland
journey across North America in search of new lives
and new opportunities. This voluntary human emigration
has been well documented. However, until now,
nothing had been said about the tens of thousands of
oxen, horses, and mules who enabled them to accomplish
the journey. Diana Ahmad’s book addresses this oversight
by writing animals back into this important period
of North America’s history.
However, the military horse was also a weapon which quickly broke down when it was not properly maintained. The British Army had learned this to its cost during the Boer War, when more horses had been killed by bad management than by enemy action. Good horse management in the field depended upon the soldier. It was essential that he had received adequate training, and it was also essential that he take responsibility for his horse’s well-being. During the Great War, all soldiers given ‘ownership’ of a horse were taught to put their horse’s needs before their own, and to always think first of their horse. They were taught to see their horse in the same way as an infantryman would his rifle; as something he may have cause to rely upon and which it was therefore in his best interests to look after. The soldier-horse relationship developed once the soldier’s care became one of sympathetic consideration. Soldiers and their horses spent most of their lives together when on active service, and it was this close proximity which helped to bond them into a unit. Many soldiers came to see their horses as comrades; they named them, and went to great lengths to protect their horses from harm. From the Army’s perspective, the soldier-horse relationship ensured that an expensive military asset was properly maintained.
At home, portrayals of the soldier-horse relationship extended this vital contribution to the war effort beyond the battlefield. For example, images and stories that told of the soldier’s kindness to his horse bolstered a positive illusion the British had of themselves as a people capable of both strength and compassion. Images of the soldier-horse relationship played an important part in helping the British people to imagine war. They also provided much-needed comfort and reassurance when friends and loved ones were in danger. Importantly, by studying these portrayals dispassionately, we find that they were never entire flights of fancy, and often bore more than a passing resemblance to the soldier’s actual experience. Indeed, it becomes possible to question whether sense and sentimentality ever did entirely part company in the British imagination.
Like their flesh and blood inspiration, portrayals of the soldier-horse relationship have not received the attention they merit. By rectifying this oversight, this thesis not only contributes to study of the horse-human relationship, but also to our knowledge of the Great War. Not least, because we achieve a better appreciation of what it was like to live in the War’s shadow.
Thesis is available to download UDORA: http://hdl.handle.net/10545/621040