| Featured Article - November 2007
In The Shadow of Equus From the Back of a Warhorse |
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| Last year in the November edition of
Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal (PPHJ), I wrote a tribute to the
contribution that horses have made during the great wars. Research at
the Imperial War Museum website led me to a single mention of a black
pony called “Coal Box.” I wrote about how he was a German pony found
and adopted by men of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps on the Western
Front. So imagine my surprise when Kathy Smith, publisher and editor of PPHJ, received an email from George France, who wrote that his father was a Captain in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, who wrote many letters home to his parents in England. “These,” he wrote, “had been saved but lost for many years. Found at the passing of my elder brother a few years back, they have now been saved to CD. One letter refers to the adoption of “Coal Box,” a pony as black as night itself. We think my father was involved in the rescue and adoption.” That led to a series of fascinating emails with Mr. France, and here, in his words, is what is known of a little black pony caught in the crossfire and the experiences of his father who went to war while still in his late teens. “Lieutenant George Frederic Hayhurst-France, D.S.O., M.C. & Bar, King’s Own 60th Rifles, arrived on the Western Front in France, April 11, 1915. He wrote letters home to his parents. Many never got through, others lacked dates, none revealed his exact location for security reasons, and the details described may not have occurred that day or that week. He was an artist at heart and as there were no TVs or movie cameras then, he did a lot of sketching of the scenery which was used by Intelligence. “His battalion was protecting a big gun battery. The routine was four days in the Front Line, four days in Reserve, four days in the Rest area. The location was a brick works as reference is made to stacks of clay bricks that were curing. They were used as observation posts. Patrols were sent out to locate the enemy and try to take prisoners for interrogation. “A patrol came in empty-handed but it was followed by a black pony, as ‘black as night itself.’ The men named it ‘Coal Box.’ It was likely a draft pony used for hauling coal and clay for the works but it was lost and hungry in the middle of the war. To send it away might give away their location. A gun battery meant there were limber horses close at hand with feed and water. [At that time, artillery guns were pulled by horses in gun-limbers, or ammunition wagons.] So the pony was ‘adopted’ and most likely sent to the gunnery mount picket line. My father was at the time riding a transport horse named Gypsy.” Lt. France was injured in the leg from a close shell burst later that month and was sent back to London for hospital treatment. He returned to duty near Ruen July 19, where he learned that his captain had been killed in action. “[My father] was now acting Captain,” continued Mr. France, recounting the intensity of a typical wartime moment from his father’s letters. |
“His men were guarding
engineers who were digging gun
emplacements astride the main road, while billeted on a ruined farm in
a wooded area. A German spotter plane flew over every afternoon. Just
as darkness fell, the gun limber teams came galloping up the Lille
road, (and) swung hard right into the trees. The teams were stomping
and the bits were clinking as the crews manhandled the guns amongst the
trees and covered them. Next day, the Germans steadily shelled the
empty gun pits on the road. As the location of the enemy guns was
plotted, the British guns opened on them.” The popular image of warhorses is of their contribution in battle and transportation. Less known are the equestrian sports and recreation activities soldiers enjoyed to ease their stress and test their skills. Here, Mr. France quoted from his father’s letter: “Sunday, September 12. The Brigade Horse Show. Lots of ‘lepping’ and falls. But the favourite of the show was the doctor’s ugly black pony again.” The guess is that the black pony was Coal Box who had been found to have a new talent in “lepping,” the original (or military) term for show jumping. In early winter, the Brigade moved to southern France then shipped to Salonika, Greece. “They were stationed in the hills to keep the Bulgars from assisting the Turks as the Australians and British battled for control of the Dardanelles at Gallipoli. Cptn. France’s horse was a mare called ‘Kitty.’ She was a great ‘lepper’ and cross-country horse but would buck her rider off ‘just because’ and hated a pistol being fired over her ears which caused her to bolt every time. She was subject to a mysterious lameness in a foreleg. Cptn. France’s parents sent some powders from England but his batman tasted them, swore they were illegal dope and dumped them. But Kitty got better.” Like horses, mules were hugely valued during the war and they carried the heavy Lewis machine guns. One mule could carry one gun broken down into its pieces and held in place with special strapping. Essential training, of course, was assembling a machine gun in record time. It became a Brigade competition. “Each Company fielded a team of three mules each with six men. They had to rush the mules, free a section of the gun, run 50 yards away from the mule, assemble the gun, set up and fire 47 rounds (a magazine), then dismantle and re-pack the mules. The record time was 100 seconds. Cptn. France’s team won the event which he watched while seated on Kitty. Sometimes a mule didn’t cooperate and chaos ensued.” But it would be a manageable chaos compared to the horrific chaos of war. As Mr. France said so poignantly: “Equines played an essential role in the war but perhaps, more importantly, they kept men sane under horrific conditions.” What can we say to Cptn. France, his soldiers, and their horses but thank you. Read Margaret Evans' column "In The Shadow Of Equus" each month in Pacific & Prairie Horse Journal |
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