Gallant “ Front – Liners”

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXVIII, Issue 3483, 23 August 1937, Page 7

Gallant “ Front - Liners”

VETERANS OF THE WAR. We all know what terrible toll war takes of human life. But we seldom remember that tens of thousands of humble creatures, dumb yet heroic, also perish. There is a building iu London dedicated as a memorial to the hosts which perished in the Great War; and on the casualty panel is an inscription recording the death of no than 484,000 horses, mules, camels, dogs, and carrier-pigeons which were drafted into service. Of all these creatures none makes a closer appeal to man’s heart than the horse. One by one the old “frontliners” are passing, and to-day there are only a few hundreds left of the lens of thousands which saw active service. “Old Contemptibles.” A famous veteran, Suzette, who joined the Life Guards a quarter of a century ago, died at the age of 32. As recently as September she took part in the rally of the Old Contemptibles at Sheffield, when she led the Hull branch through the city. Suzette was no “feather-bed” mount, for she went out to France in August, 1914, and took part in the Battles of Mons and Le Cateau, the Retreat from Mons, the Battle of the Aisne, the first and second Battles of Ypres and the Somme. She was slightly wounded on the Aisne. Suzette served four years in Belgium and France and finished up at Mons on the day of the Armistice in 1918.

One of the most famous of all frontliners was Lord Mottistone’s Warrior, about whom he has written a book. He vas a guest of honor at the camp of the Isle of Wight Boy Scouts, and, seated upon him, Lord Mottistone said: “I have brought my dear old horse to see you, as I regard him as the embodiment of the three chief virtues we expect in Scouts: Courage, Endurance and Friendship.” Lord Mottistone bred him, and Warrior went out to Prance with the B.E.F. He was frequently ridden by F ield-Marshal Sir John French during the early battles. During the next four years his experiences were thrilling and hazardous, and the horse evinced the most noble qualities. Once on a wild night ride he carried his master 58 miles to a threatened part of the line, and then collapsed, utterly exhausted. But after lying on the ground for a while he got up and carried his master for the rest of the day. Once Lord Mottistone and another officer left their horses in charge of a soldier while they entered the front line. When they returned Warrior was waiting quietly and alone. The other horse was killed, and the soldier unconscious. Warrior might have bolted from the noise and horror to safety on the other side of a ridge, but he remained at his post, waiting for his master.

Yet another gallant horse was Lord Sandon’s Christchurch, which “passed on” just three years back. He served from February, 1915, until May, 1919 (on the Rhine). Up to the guns almost dally—and often nightly. Just 18 months ago there died a celebrated war horse which all Southampton loved. He was serving in the police force till the very last, dying of a heart attack, and his rider said of him: “He never shirked his duty. There is not a man in the Force who will not miss him. I was glad I was there to make a pillow for his head when he died.”

Perhaps, of all war horses, Glad Eye, a notable jumper, for he cleared 6ft. 4in. at the International Horse Show, Olympia, in 1913, was the most widely travelled. From 1914 to 1918 Glad Eye was on active service successively in France. Egypt, Salonica and Turkey, and in South Russia in 1919, and early in 1920 returned home overland across Europe. Remembering such faithful service, it is not strange that man has sought to commemorate it. At St Jude’s on the Hill, 'in Golders Green, there is a monument of a bronze horse on a pedestal, a pathetic symbol of England’s love for horses and her sorrow at their suffering. Written on it are these wrds: “In grateful and revex-ent memory of the Empire’s Horses (some 375,000) who fell in the great war. Of course, on the other side were horses equally heroic, and it is pleasing to record how our old foes have, in like manner, tided to reward them. In Germany over eleven hundred veterans have been found, nearly all in the hands of old soldiers, and over 200 bear scars of battle. A shield of honor, “Old (or War) Comrade,” has been fixed above their stables, and where their owners are known to be in financial difficulties oats have been sent them for the horses. In Austria this year seventeen horses which served with the Forces were decorated by the Vienna Society for the Protection of Animals in the presence of a representative of the War Office, many senior officers, and a large public. Metal plaques, with the words “War Comrade,” were attached to their heads, and after being photographed they were given a generous meal of the best oats.