Warrior, the REAL 'War Horse' who braved the bullets, barbed wire and shell fire of World War I

More on horses and WW1,

It was Winston Churchill who intervened to secure the safe return of tens of thousands of war horses stranded in Europe after the First World War.

Equine support: It was Winston Churchill who intervened to secure the safe return of tens of thousands of war horses stranded in Europe after the First World War

War Office documents found in the National Archives at Kew show that tens of thousands of the animals were at risk of disease, hunger and even death at the hands of French and Belgian butchers because bungling officials couldn’t get them home when hostilities drew to a close.

Churchill, then aged 44 and Secretary of State for War, reacted with fury when he was informed of their treatment and took a personal interest in their plight after the 1914-1918 war.

He secured their speedy return after firing off angry memos to officials within his own department and at the Ministry of Shipping, who had promised to return 12,000 horses a week but were struggling to get a quarter of that number back.

Churchill’s intervention led to extra vessels being used for repatriation, and the number of horses being returned rose to 9,000 a week.

Warrior, the REAL 'War Horse' who braved the bullets, barbed wire and shell fire of World War I | Mail Online