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The New Zealand Military Horse in World War 1

Introduction.

 

For the purpose of sharing information, with interested persons, on the history of the New Zealand Military Horse in World War 1, this article is aimed as being informative. As the event coordinator, with restricted planning time, I have sourced information from experts who in my opinion have knowledge far superior than mine. Their books and links to sites are invaluable and are highly recommended reading. Therefore, I have taken segments of information directly from four more qualified sources, than myself, to share with the public interested in this memorial ride, to all those horses lost in the war.

 

The War Horse History.

 

“The importance of horses has inspired countless words and images throughout history.  Few tools or resources have had such an enduring effect on civilisation nor formed such a close long lasting bond with humanity.  For 5,000 years the horse was integral to military operations with unmatched speed, manoeuvrability, endurance and reliability. Even as war changed and technology advanced, the horse remained a cornerstone of warfare into the twentieth century. The horse was crucial to the development of colonial New Zealand, it is integral to our social, economic, agricultural and military history, yet sadly, the horse has been comprehensively overlooked in our national historiography” reports Wilson in his thesis on the subject (1970, pg. 18).

 

Everyone has heard of our famous New Zealand race horse 'Phar Lap' or our gold medal Olympian Mark Todd and his horse 'Charisma' but do you know the names of the military horses -'Bess' 'Nigger', 'Beauty' and 'Dolly' who were Army Officers horses in the Great War and the only New Zealand Horses to be repatriated back home in 1920. They were four of the many that spent many weeks at sea leaving behind lush grazing for harsh living conditions and extremes of temperatures. Their lives were to change dramatically.

 

EIGHT MILLION Horses died in World War 1

 

Over 10 000 horses came from as far away as New Zealand to serve both King and Country. “On 30th July 1914, a week before the outbreak of the Great War, the New Zealand government had been encouraged by London to begin precautionary measures for the mobilisation of an expeditionary force, including two mobile veterinary sections and two veterinary hospital sections, for service in Egypt. Each military district was charged with providing a mounted rifle regiment and an infantry battalion. The four infantry battalions therefore formed an infantry brigade while a mounted infantry brigade was formed from the Wellington, Auckland and Canterbury Mounted Rifles, with the Otago mounted Rifles remaining independent as the divisional cavalry. Volunteers were readily available early on and enlistment was used for the duration of the war. Conscription was introduced in 1916 after the flow of volunteers began to ebb” (Wilson, 1970, pg. 44).

 

“Between 1914 and 1916 the Government acquired horses to equip the New Zealand Expeditionary Force.  They served in German Samoa, Gallipoli, and the Middle East and on the Western Front. More than half were ridden and nearly 4000 were draught or pack horses used for artillery and transport purposes. Nearly all of the horses went overseas and only 3% died on route” (NZ History website).

 

Kinloch (2007) reports that “stock inspectors from the Department of Agriculture purchased 9347 horses paying an average of 17 pounds ($34 in today’s money) for riding horses and 24 pounds for transport and artillery horses. Of the 1437 donated from settlers and others – inspectors took 1300…….      

 

The New Zealand Veterinary Corps were formed in 1907. At the outbreak of war immediate calls were made upon the Corps to purchase horses, provide veterinary officers for duty on transport ships and train essential personnel. The operations were under the administration of Dr C J Reaes ranked as Colonel and later as Director General of the NZ Department of Agriculture”.

 

“Horses offered for sale were carefully tested at depots and any slight sign of unsoundness meant they were rejected. They went through severe “try-outs” to prevent unfit horses unable to handle the harsh conditions of war. At one time a thousand horses with about a hundred attendants were at the depot, and the lines extended over 15 acres. On arrival at the depot horses were classified for artillery being light and heavy draught, pack and troop work. The sixth class was the charger. They were marked with the sign of state – N broad arrow Z set with a hot iron on one forefoot and the horse’s identification on the other hoof” (NZETC, no date).

 

“Identification notes on every horse handled at the depot were made – colour, sex, height, marks and other details entered into a ledger. The ledger subsequently showed any change of camp, or use the animal might have had.  As far as possible the horses of each class retained a uniform appearance by having the same cut of mane and tail. Lessons learnt later after the Boer War was that the short backed thick set horses of 14.2 to 14.3 hands high or a small thoroughbred of up to 15 hands with good bone and substance proved best, because they had to mount and dismount throughout the day. Every fighting soldier in the NZMR Brigade had a horse, and senior officers often had several each. Packhorses carried machine guns, ammunition and other essential equipment and supplies, draught horses pulled supply and ambulance wagons and artillery guns. The horses were to be between four and seven years of age and stallions were not permitted, with geldings preferred to mares. A choice made due to mares in German Samoa were reported to have fallen pregnant to local stallions.

 

Military regulations were quite specific as listed in Terry Kinloch's book he reports that “horses known as remounts had to be obedient, steady in and out of the ranks, used to weapons firing near them, good jumpers, unafraid of deep water and swimming, willing to stand still when being mounted and happy to be led. Recruits were required to pass horsemanship tests before they were sent overseas and had vigorous training” (Kinloch, 2007, pg. 34). 

 

“Eleven weeks after the outbreak of the First World War on August 4 1914, 8500 men and 4000 horses sailed from the New Zealand, bound for England. A quarter of the men and half of the horses belonged to the NZMR Brigade.  The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was supposed to complete its training in England, before crossing the English Channel to fight the Imperial German Army alongside the British in France and Belgium. The plan came to nought when Turkey joined the War on Germany's side while the convoy transporting the NZEF and the larger Australian Imperial Force (AIF) was still at sea. The men were diverted to Egypt in December to train and to help defend the vital Suez Canal against Turkish attack from southern Palestine (modern Israel)” (Kinloch, 2007, pg. 38).

 

“Smaller groups of 300 and 1000 horses followed until late 1916 when the Defence Department stopped sending horses because of lack of shipping. The largest number of horses on one ship was 728, on the HM NZT Orari. Troops detailed to care for the horses were supervised by officers of the New Zealand Veterinary Corps which accompanied most of the transports carrying horses. The horses stood in stalls with limited ventilation below deck and those on top deck had to deal with weather changes and rolling seas.  Conditions were much worse in the Boer War with 8000 horses sent to South Africa - these horses arrived hock deep in manure and in poor condition expected to work immediately. Since this time improvements had been made to ventilation, hygiene, space and watering procedures. When weather permitted they were exercised on decks covered with coconut matting” (New Zealand History website).

 

In Wilson's (2007) thesis he quotes Colonel Powles describing the moment of disembarkation at Alexandria in December 1914, “Many of the horses were groggy on their legs, but their relief at finding themselves on land again was plain to all; it was impossible to stop them from rolling in the sand, kicking up their heels, and breaking loose in their delight at being on land again.' These horses were then trained to remount depots and were not ridden for four months in order to regain their strength; the lessons learnt from campaigning in South Africa were well learnt and the horses were given plenty of time to regain condition”.

 

Kincloch (2007, pgs.34&36) reports on the war “at outbreak of war the mounted riflemen had a large and efficient organisation to help them care for their precious horses. The New Zealand Government sent two veterinary mobile sections and two veterinary sections to Egypt. Every regiment had a professional veterinary officer and a farrier quartermaster sergeant, and each squadron had one farrier sergeant and one shoeing smith per troop. The regimental veterinary officers and their assistants treated minor equine illnesses and injuries and the MZMVS collected and evacuated horse causalities from the battle zone. Seriously ill or injured animals were evacuated to veterinary hospitals, usually by rail. Recovering horses as well as tired and worn out animals, passed through convalescent depots. Once fit the horses were usually sent to remount depots. Animals that were too ill were usually humanely destroyed by shooting. It was in the best interest of the mounted rifleman to keep his original horse fit and healthy to avoid the risk of losing it and getting an inferior replacement.  The horsemen spent devoted hours each day to the care of their mounts. It was impossible and against regulations to wash the animals in the desert, so regular daily grooming was essential to keep the pores open [which allowed them to cool], to remove dead skin and hair and to remove disease causing  organisms.  Regimental farriers inspected the feet of all horses daily and horseshoes were replaced regularly.

 

Kinloch (2007, pg. 37) continues stating that “horses in hard and sustained work require a mix of hard feed and in the Middle East this consisted of oats, maize, bran, dhoura or barley) and roughage – grass, hay, berseem, chaff, tibbin or straw. Often the horses were so tired that they refused to eat, and weary troops would knead dry grain into little balls moistened with a few last drops of water and feed the animals by hand.' Whenever extra fodder was around men would gather it up and tie it to their saddles for later use …..

 

The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was organised into small headquarters, three fighting regiments and several small support units. A brigadier general commanded the brigade with the assistance of several dozen officers, clerks, military policeman, signallers, and orderlies. Each of the mounted rifles regiments had 549 men and 608 horses under the command of a lieutenant colonel, arranged in three squadrons and a machine gun section. Each of the latter contained a pair of Maxim machine guns, which were carried on packhorses. A mounted rifle squadron of 158 men and 169 horses was subdivided into a headquarters and four troops, each troop consisted of eight four-man sections. The section was the building block of the regiment.  In combat, one man in each section was responsible for holding the horses while the other three fought on foot. In addition to the riflemen, each regiment had a veterinary officer, a doctor, and three medical orderlies, a chaplain, an armourer (to look after the weapons), a number of signallers ,cooks, farriers, saddlers, trumpeters, clerks, batmen, grooms, drivers, stretcher-bearers and sanitary staff (Kinloch, 2007, pg. 37).

 

Saddlery used

 

“The horsemen used the excellent British Universal Pattern (UP) 10902 saddle which was designed to spread the weight of the rider and his equipment evenly over the horse’s back. The total weight carried by a troop horses was about 110kgs – 70kg rider, 20kgs for saddlery and the balance for clothing and personal effects, rations, weapons and ammunition.

 

Strapped to the saddle were two leather wallets (usually containing spare clothes, toiletries and emergency rations), a great coat, a rubberised groundsheet, a canvas water bucket, one or two shoe cases, a sand muzzle, a second saddle blanket, a picketing peg and a rope, mess tins and a nose-bag or sack holding grain for the horse. With all his kit around him, it was virtually impossible for a rider to fall off a horse except sideways. Later in the war, a second ammunition bandolier was place around the horse's neck.

 

The leather Universal Pattern 1902 bridle consisted of two parts: a head collar, which was never removed unless the horse was in a fenced enclosure. The bridle head was issued with a reversible port mouth bit but a simpler and less harsh snaffle or Pelham bit was almost invariably used in the field. Whenever time permitted, bridle-heads were removed to allow horses to drink and eat more comfortably. A head-rope, used to secure the horses in camp, was attached to the head-collar and looped around the horse’s neck” (Kinloch, 2007, pg 43).

 

The role of the horse in World War 1

 

Wilson (2007, pg. 55-61) recounts that “the desert theatre of World War 1 spanned 530km across the Sinai Desert in Egypt, to Palestine as far as Damascus, and produced some of the most effective mounted operations of the war. The Egyptian-based British army was supported by Australia and New Zealand contingents including the 2nd Mounted Division, the Australian Mounted Division, the Australian and New Zealand Mounted Division and the Australian Infantry Division known as the Desert Corps who were all pioneers or sons of pioneers with rugged frontier attributes, strong horsemanship a fine shooting skills, earning them the reputation as some of the best soldiers of the war. The enemy was the Turkish 4th Army whose presence in the Middle East and North Africa threatened Britain’s Anglo-Persian oil fields and most importantly, the Suez Canal. Horses played a vital role in the desert, at Gallipoli, in France and Belgium……

 

The Gallipoli campaign has become the most infamous military campaign in New Zealand and Australian history. This battle was crucial in the growth of both nations, who were keen to impress their fighting potential to the imperial mother-nation. Gallipoli provided the birth of the Anzac spirit and forms a major part of the proud colonial legend – bravery, honour, ingenuity and patriotism. The lack of action for horses during Gallipoli campaign was due to the unsuitability of terrain, which was not conducive to mounted warfare. On 25th April 1915 Australian and New Zealand forces landed at Anzac Cove with 154 horses, 1,889 mules and four veterinary officers. This force experienced few losses during disembarkation, despite the constant shell fire and the arduous task of the draught hand artillery horses unloading landing craft and drawing ammunition and supplies across the sand. They fared well until September and October before suffering any serious loss of condition. According to Colonel Powles, there was much discussion within the trenches as to how the campaign would be finished if only the horses could be sent over from Egypt. He wrote: 'Though for the time being they became superb infantrymen and they never forgot their horses' a mentality which highlights the enormous psychological advantages of the horse’s role throughout the war” (Wilson, 2007, pg. 61).

 

Mincham (2011, pg. 126) recalls “It was not until the evacuation of the peninsula that the survivor was reunited with their horses at Zeitoun Camp near Cairo. It was with much joy that they found their animals in excellent condition, well acclimatised to North African conditions. Accounts of this period make it obvious that this was deeply meaningful experience for the men. One commentator noted that after the crowded conditions and horrors of Gallipoli, the men felt 'able to breathe the fresh air, and with the exhilarating exercise of riding fit horses, the men of the “Old Brigade” of Gallipoli soon became their normal selves”.

 

“Climate was a predominant factor in the desert campaign as extreme conditions were trying for both man and animal. November and December saw constant rain, deep mud and piercing winds and on occasion the horses found themselves standing in six inches of snow (Wilson, 2007, pg. 66). 

 

“An Egyptian summer would consist of temperatures varying from a minimum of 110C to a maximum of 470C between May and June accompanied by severe dust storms. The deserts are made of soft undulating sand dunes thirty metres high which altered periodically by winds and storms making navigation very difficult and compasses a necessity due to the lack of outstanding features. Extreme weather variations, rugged terrain and unforgiving geography made military campaigning possible only through the extensive use of the horse. Horses fared far better in these conditions than foot soldiers ever could, and did so with unrivalled pace. The environment was not perfectly suited to the horse, but it would not be unreasonable to state that military success without the horse's uncompromising efforts during battle would have been unattainable (Reakes, 1923, pg. 153).

 

Wilson explores the work of the war horse (1970, pg. 85) “The true value of the military horse was in its transport, locomotive and drafting abilities. It remained the only option for quick and reliable transport where railways did not exist. As such, horses were required to carry large load of equipment and men for unremitting distances. Artillery and draft horses were required to haul often heavier loads at an equally swift pace across the same terrain and under the same conditions not to forget oxen, mules and camels which endured similar workloads. The lives of military animals involved endless gruelling tasks carried out in unforgiving environments, making their efforts most remarkable”.

 

“In the desert campaign, horses were expected to march between forty and sixty, even ninety miles a day      (60-150km) distances only possible at a very slow pace. Artillery horses had to endure such conditions with 1.5 tonnes of steel in tow! The nature of these conflicts; extreme climates, water shortages, tough terrain, vast distances and the lack of roads and railway systems as well as horse shortages meant than transport lines were best served by mules, oxen and camels. It is therefore essential to recognise the hard work of these less glamourous animals without which, the war efforts would have surely collapsed. The mortality rate of mules in transport across land and sea during WW1 was less than half that of horses. Mortality due to disease and all other causes in the field was nearly a quarter that of horses. As for camels – the corps was at its full strength by March 1917 when it was made up of, on average 44,077 camels.  However, camels, although native to the harsh conditions of the desert, were fragile animals. They actually suffered a much higher death rate than horses and mules (Wilson, 1970, pg. 90).

 

Horses health issues

 

Wilson (1970, pg. 220)  details that “It was in the mounteds best interest to protect the health of his horse as if suffering from a condition the horse may be sent to the veterinary hospital and he would be given a replacement and possibly not see the same horse again whom he had shared so much…. Horses suffered back pain from poorly fitted saddles, underfeeding, poor horsemanship in some cases or overwork from long hours. On some occasions they were left saddled at night for the safety reason of a quick getaway due to the situation that particular area…..                                                                                                  Sand Colic was caused mainly by horses picking food off the ground, which was spilt out of hay nets and nosebags. Standard colic occurred through overwork or a sudden change in feed. Horses suffered from mosquito borne diseases, fly bites made a cut or wound increasingly difficult to heal especially in the corners of the horses eyes and mouth…. Shell wounds, depending on the size and character were generally far more harmful than bullet wounds.  Wounds caused by and containing pieces of shell led to many complications often resulting in death from septicaemia. Remember that veterinarians did not have antibiotics and so wounds took so much longer to heal” (Wilson, 2007, pg. 208).

 

At the second battle of Gaza the New Zealand mounted force suffered severely; according to Lieutenant-Colonel Reakes: “ Acres of horses, standing while the men were in action, made an easy target for the bombs of hostile airmen, and also for guns, and they were bombed and shelled from early morning till late at night …..Horses suffered from sprains commonly occurred when forced to perform heavy work without sufficient rest, or when working at speed on uneven ground or in deep mud. Fractures from kicks occurred. Ninety percent of draught horses suffered from heart strain, others respiratory disease and contagious pneumonia.  Hunger and dehydration often contributed to muscular fatigue which caused uncoordinated movement and could result in contusions, sprain, fractures and breakages. Poisoning – arsenic was the most commonly responsible for horse deaths. Ringworm, lymphangitis – (inflammation of the lymph glands located in the upper leg) and laminitis commonly known as founder. While the New Zealand Brigade was in Zeitoun in January 1915 an epidemic of equine influenza raged for six weeks with horrific results. Of the 5,000 horses encamped almost all of them were affected and 75% died” (Reakes, 1923, pg. 158).

 

Mincham (2011) writes “For some of the New Zealand troopers, reunion with their horses was short-lived. Major restructuring saw the Otago Mounted Rifles disbanded and may men and officers transferred to the boost Allied strength on the Western Front.  Some of the New Zealand horses accompanied them, but the imperial remount depots supplied the majority of the some 6000 horses required by the New Zealand Division in Europe where they were needed for transport and artillery purposes, but there was still a call for cavalry horses. The mud, cold and barbed wire on the Western Front made it an intolerable place for horses, even without the modern weaponry utilised. Despite increasing opposition to his view, Sir Douglas Haig, along with some other high ranking officers, remained steadfast in the conviction that once artillery and infantry were able to breach a gap in enemy lines, the cavalry could gallop through and finish the rout. What few opportunities there were to use the cavalry in this way gained nothing and resulted in a huge toll on men and horses. It should have been obvious, even at this early stage, that the mobility of modern armoured vehicles made the mounted soldier redundant, but the power of the warhorse was so entrenched in the military mind that this realisation dawned very slowly”.

 

In the Sinai-Palestine theatre, however, the situation was very different. Here the mounted soldiery played a critical role in the desert campaign, leading to the defeat of the Turkish armies in 1918. Lieutenant General Sir Harry Chauvel, in command of the ANZAC Mounted Division, makes this clear:

 

“In the early part of the Great War the day of the mounted man appeared to be gone forever, and it remained for the Australian Light horse and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles to demonstrate to the world that the horse soldier was as essential in the modern warfare as he had ever been in the past….New Zealand was an important player here, with the Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury Mounted Rifles forming one of the brigades of the ANZAC Mounted Division. There were very Calvary charges – notable was the charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba, which was strategically important to the taking of Palestine. Although the success of the 'devastating' charge belonged to Australia, historian Christopher Pugsley reminds us that this was only made possible by the tactical skills of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in taking Tel el Saba, key to the Turkish position, stating his firm belief that the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade 'was one of the finest fighting bodies that New Zealand ever raised'.  Pugsley gives credit to the strong leadership of Colonel Edward Walter Clervaux Chaytor, who commanded the New Zealand Rifles in Sinai. It fell to Chaytor to rebuild his regiments and train reinforcements after the crippling effects of Gallipoli. Rigorous training and tight discipline aided creating a tight-knit body of horseman as did the regional loyalty experienced by each of the mounted regiments” (Pugsley, cited in Mincham, 2011, pg.130).

 

“But Pugsley, along with some first-hand observers, also factored the horse into the special relationship that existed among mounted soldiers. As Pugsley (cited in Mincham, 2011, pg.130) notes, “on operations it was the bond between man and horse that determined the discipline of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade.  In the harsh environment of the Sinai Desert and demanding marches with little water, a soldier's survival depended on his horse. But it was not just troopers' physical welfare that the horses were of importance. L.R.C MacFarlane claimed that the mounted troops had fewer of what he called 'nerve cases' than other soldiers. The companionship of the horses and the work entailed in caring for them, he though, benefited the men's emotional well-being.  A trooper's horse, according to CG Nicol was regarded as his comrade-in-arms and as such was looked after with 'self-sacrificing devotion'. The horses on campaign, like the soldiers that rode them, suffered the same difficult conditions and were also seen to share the same qualities of courage, stamina and stoicism that have been bestowed o warriors throughout history. This gave an added dimension to mounted soldiery and explains, in part, the deep-felt commitment to the 'Calvary spirit'”.

 

Of the mounted soldier, Powles (cited in Mincham, 2011, pg.131) states: “In addition to the Brotherhood of the Regiment he belongs to the Brotherhood of the Horse, and from this twofold love springs a tribal feeling as strong as that which animated the Highland clans of old”.

 

“With this in mind, it is of no wonder that one of the most enduring stories about the New Zealand military horse, concerns their disposal at the end of the war. Hardly an oral or written account fails to mention the grim task of the New Zealand troopers, who felt compelled to shoot their horses rather than let them be sold to locals. While in the nineteenth century, the horsemen of the Middle East were held in high regard as the desert people who bred and trained the esteemed Arab and Barb horses, the harshness of war altered this perception. Nicol explains that the soldiers 'chose this heart-breaking course rather than risk their gallant four-footed comrades falling into the hands of cruel owners and ending their days in slavery “Mincham, 2011, pg.131).

 

Repatriation

 

Bess

“The most famous horse to return to New Zealand was 'Bess'. Bess (originally named 'Zelma') was presented to the Wellington Mounted Rifles by the people of Wairarapa. Unusually for remounts, Bess was a thoroughbred. She was allocated to Captain Powles and remained his personal mount, seeing action in many of the desert campaigns. After the war, Powles accompanied by Bess, represented New Zealand at victory celebrations in Europe before returning home. She remained with her master, enjoying her last years at the Flock House Farm Training Institute in Manawatu, where Powles was principal. On a quiet hack around the farm during her twenty-fourth year, Bess suddenly lay down and died. She is buried on that spot under a memorial cairn listing her service record” (NZ History website).

 

Around 100 000 of the British Army's nearly 400 000 horses in France were eventually repatriated to England in March 1919. Among them were four New Zealand horses originally from New Zealand including Bess. All four belonged to Officers:

 

  • Beauty to the late Captain Richard Errol Wardell Riddiford who ended her days in Westella just out of Fielding, where the Captains sister lived. Captain Riddiford died of the post-war influenza epidemic.

  • Bess to Captain Charles Guy Powles who has had children’s book titles 'Brave Bess and the ANZAC horses' - A true story of courage and loyalty by Susan Brocker, first published in 2010

  • Dolly to General Alexander Hamilton Russel

  • Nigger to the late Lieutenant Colonel Maurice George King

 

Mays (2013) that after the war, Colonel Powles rode Bess in the grand parades of the Wairarapa and Trenthhem A&P Shows. The Colonel was the father of Sir Guy Powels, who in 1962 became the country's first ombudsman, and also the country's first race relations conciliator. Bess is immortalized in two other monuments. She is one of the two horses on a stature to commemorate the ANZAC mounted troops erected in Port Said in Egypt in 1932. Damaged in 1956 Suez Crisis, the statue was relocated to Albany, Western Australia. The horse statue in Wellington's cenotaph is also said to be modelled on Bess. On her death, Colonel Powles wrote this piece for the New Zealand Free Lance: “Bess was an ideal charger, a sound hunter and could see at night like a cat. With excellent paces, steady, unruffled temper she was a delightful hack to ride. She had a wonderful constitution and was fit and sound” (Mincham, 2011, pg. 45).

 

Fred Macdonald who for many years has been researching in great detail these four horses - wrote on 22 March 2011 in Community contributions NZ History online: “The actual date of return to Wellington, New Zealand was Saturday 6 July 1920. Four horses arrived on board S.S. WESTMEATH and berthed at Kings Wharf. We have the discharge papers and have researched S.S. WESTMEATH to establish facts.

 

S.S.WEASTMEATH departed Liverpool 23-4-1920 and sailed via Glasgow, Bristol, Panama Canal. A fire on board, No 4 hold, six days out of Panama destroyed the horses feed, so the men fed them with their own bread to keep them alive. Arrived Auckland 19-6-1920 and on to Wellington where the horses were disembarked” (NZ History website).

 

Every year there is a memorial service to Bess held on ANZAC Day west of Bulls on Parewanui Road (towards Flock House) and into Forest Road. Fred can be contacted on by email at fearless_fred@clear.net.nz. Fred is working on a web page specific to these horses. See also ww.mch.govt.nz/news-events/protection-close-first-world war memorial to the horse. It lists that the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT) is working with AgResearch to protect and conserve the memorial and its immediate surrounds through a heritage covenant and conservation management plan to ensure it remains much as it was when erected following Bess's death and burial on the site in 1934.

 

The memorial also serves as a reminder of the horses's owner, Colonel Charles Guy Powles, who served with distinction and became an equally important figure on his return. The pair was part of campaigns in Egypt 1915, Sinai 1916, Palestine 1917-18, France 1918, Germany 1919, and England 1920 with the Wellington Mounted Rifles. Colonel Powles went on to become chief of staff to the New Zealand Army in 1923 and Head Master at Flock House, established to assist the dependents of war veterans (First War Centenary projects/Ministry for Culture and Heritage).

 

To conclude, Mincham (2011, pg. 135) writes:

“The shared experience with the Australian Light Horse Brigades as part of the ANZAC Mounted Division created mutual respect and also an intense rivalry. But it was out of this successful partnership that a distain for British mounted soldiery grew. The British Yeomanry Division linked to the ANZAC Mounted Division was seen to have failed to adapt to desert conditions and lacked the speed, drive and skills to be a fighting force……the New Zealand warhorse also stood up well to comparison”.

 

Writing in the aftermath of World War 1, Briscoe Moore (cited in Mincham, 2011, pg.135) made this assessment:

“The New Zealand horses throughout the war stood up to their work brilliantly, and were considered, by many qualified to express an opinion, to be, perhaps, the most serviceable troop-horses in the world for active service. The mounts possessed by the Australians were, generally speaking, better looking horses, and were held by some to be the best horses, but veterinary returns will show that they did not stand up to hardship as did the New Zealand bred stock”.

 

“Given the success of New Zealand's horses in World War 1, the country's strong tradition of mounted volunteer units, along with the internationally established prestige of mounted warfare, it is not surprising that the mechanisation of the army was slow to develop. Although reduced to nine territorial regiments, mounted soldiery maintained 'pride of place' in the armed services and despite the dramatic decline in the use of horses by the general public, the army still required some 4000 horses up to 1941. During the 1930s, the New Zealand Army maintained a riding school, first as the Alexandria Barracks in Wellington and then later at Trent ham, was both regulars and territorial soldiers were taught the principles of equitation and horsemanship”.

 

“The shared experience with the Austrailian Light Horse Brigades as part of the ANZAC Mounted Division created a mutual respect and also an intense rivalry.  But it was out of this successful partnership that a distain for British mounted soldiery grew. The British Yeomanry Division linked to the ANZAC Mounted Division was seen to have failed to adapt to desert conditions and lacked the speed, drive and skills to be a fighting force. The New Zealand warhorse also stood up well to comparison” (Mincham, 2011, pg.132). 

 

“Although some horses, mules and donkeys were used by the New Zealand Army for transport purposes, particularly in mountainous and desert terrain during World War II it was home defence that mounted soldiery was called upon to serve. The Home Guard was a voluntary citizen's army, for which 'observation and then initial resistance to any invading force' was the key role. New Zealand's long and easily landed coastline could be best served by coastal units in position to give reliable reports of any 'unforeseen happenings'.  With petrol shortages and the inaccessibility of some of parts of the coastline to vehicles, patrols on horseback proved valuable” (Mincham, 2011, pg.135).

 

“The end of the war also marked the end of the New Zealand warhorse. In 1946, the Remount Branch and the New Zealand Veterinary Corps that had supported military horses were abolished. However, the legacy of the war horse continued into the second half of the century, weaving its way through many aspects of modern horse sport and recreation. A number of representations exist of the military horse in New Zealand.  Perhaps the earliest, but one that extended throughout the history; of mounted warfare in New Zealand saw the warhorse as a symbol of the elite cavalry tradition that was so firmly rooted in European culture.  Another represents the warhorse as part of the national mythology that celebrates the natural soldier as a direct descendent of the pioneers who colonised the land and its people……

 

The courage, strength and endurance displayed by man and horse alike, were qualities believed to have evolved from their common frontier heritage. Just like the workhorse, the story of the warhorse is one of a partnership of long and hard toil to create what was believed to be a better world. The warhorse reveals two sides of the New Zealand soldier: a hardened guerrilla fighter and, on the other side, a sensitive animal lover who devoted himself to the welfare of his horse and mourned its loss deeply (Mincham, 2011, pg.135).

 

Wilson (2007, pgs. 231-238) concludes….

 

“By the end of the World War One, technological advancement had made shock tactics redundant and the horse's traditional military role was coming to an end.  The speed, endurance, reliability, adaptability and manoeuvrability of the horse was unmatched by any other means until after the First World War.  The horse was the most feasible way to manoeuvre troops at speed and also the most reliable form of swift transport.

 

Despite the courageously unabated efforts of the veterinary service to reduce the effects of the war on the animals, .. it resulted in massive casualties.  The effects of disease, although generally natural, were fostered and complicated by war conditions, such as lack of supplies, personal shortages, overcrowding and poor hygiene.  For the same reasons, injuries and wounds had disastrous effects on horse causalities.

 

The various roles of the horse meant that it was constantly relied upon even in modern warfare: sizable military operations without the horse would have been quite impossible.  Despite the pressures placed upon the animals, they were unrelenting in their assistance.  Short of complete physical breakdown, these horses would repeatedly work beyond their limits; the fact that they were forced to do so highlights a concern with military infrastructure.Logistically, reloading tens of thousands of horses onto ships and embarking these heavily fatigued animals for weeks at sea could not be contemplated; condition loss was horrific enough the first time round for fresh horses, let alone transporting animals ravaged by many months of war”’

 

Lieutenant-Colonel C.Guy Powles, Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General of the Anzac Mounted Division 1916-1918, articulates a first hand reflection on the impact made by the military horse (also cited in Wilson, 2007, pg.13):

 

... New Zealanders are all horse lovers by our British birthright, and as Colonials we have learned to value the horse as a means of existence, and not merely as a means of recreation.  Our Main Body men were horse lovers by nature, for had they not volunteered and in very many cases brought their own horses?  And they were now horse-lovers by conviciton born of active experience.  They had learned that to no man is a horse so essential as to the mounted soldier.  His horse is more than a friend, he is part of the soldier's very life.

 

We had all read of the Arab's love for his horse, and we learned in these early days in the desert around Cairo the reason for that love.  Without a horse in the desert a man is impotent.  He perishes miserably.  He who has ridden into action with the bullets whistling past his ears and the shells bursting round him, will never forget his horse; how the good steed became verily a part of his body, a glorified body that carried him whithersoever he willed; escaping this danger by a miracle; leaping over that; and when all seemed lost, by his very energy and the thunder of is hoofs thrilling his rider to a renewed effort.

 

Lt Col C. Guy Powles, The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine (Auckland, 1922) pp1-2

 

References

Macdonald, F. (2011). NZ Horse on line. www.mch.govt.nz/news-events/protection-close-first-world

Kinloch, T. (2007) Devils on Horses: In the words of the Anzacs in the Middle East 1916-1919. Auckland, NZ: Exisle Publishing Ltd.

Mays, R. War Horses Lucky to make it home. Retrieved from stuff.co.nz updated version 1/5/13.

Mincham, C. (2011) The Horse in New Zealand: Attitude and Heart. Auckland, NZ: Bateman Ltd.

Ministry of Culture and Heritage (First War Centenary projects/Ministry for Culture and Heritage). www.mch.org.nz

NZ History website: www.nzhistory.net/war/nz-first-world-war-horses./

                   www.nzhistory.net.nz/media/photo/memorial-bess-horse

Powles, C.G. (1922). The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine. Auckland, NZ: Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd.

Reakes, C.J. (1923) New Zealand Veterinary Corps. IN: Drew, H.T.B. (Ed) The War Effort of New Zealand. Wellington, NZ: Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd. www.nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/WH1-Effo-fig-WH1-EffoTit.html

Spooner, G. (Editor; No date) For the love of horses: diaries of Mrs Geoffrey Brooke. London, UK: The Brooke Hospital for Animals, Cairo, British Columbia House.

Wilson, M.J. (2007). A History of New Zealand’s Military Horse. The experience of the horse in the Anglo-Boer war and World War one. University of Canterbury, New Zealand: Unpublished thesis.

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