Brave Bess

I've just been reading Brave Bess and the ANZAC horses. I'm having trouble finishing it. It's so sad.
When you read the statistics of horses lost or abandoned in WW1 and how some of the rarer British breeds were nearly made extinct, it makes you wonder at the stupidity of war.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horses_in_World_Wa...alia_and_New_Zealand

Bess was one of the lucky ones, who came home

www.nzherald.co.nz/animals/news/article....34&objectid=10640227

Stikkibeek, I haven't read that particular book but I did read another based on fact in which she was mentioned, as well as the plight of horses abandoned and the heartbreak of cavalrymen having to leave them behind, particularly those who had managed to hang on to their horses for the duration.

No wonder men came out of both wars mentally crippled - and they did!

Cheers,
Ronnie

Bess is buried near Bulls. I haven't seen the burial ground but from memory (article in paper here a year or two back), there's just a mound in the paddock.

Many of the soldiers shot their horses before they left rather than leave them to starve etc.

The mental scars of war live on - the behaviour gets passed on to the next generation - believe me! The government's advertisements about "breaking the cycle" apply here too.

Toast, check out that second link I put in the thread starter. It appears they have a new monument there now and held an ANZAC service there this year. Fitting tribute.

The book mentions shooting some of the horses, but many were abandoned. At the back of the book is mention of a British woman, who was so shocked at the plight of the horses, that she started a fund raiser to rescue as many horses as she could. About 5000 went to Britain although some of those did not survive. She also started a free horse/donkey clinic in Egypt which survives to this day. It was originally to treat warhorses that locals had adopted, and to provide free veterinary care and education. Can't think of her name off the top of my head and the books at work.

Stikkibeak, my daughter and I also read that Brave Bess book. Very sad but so educational for us. I actually didn't know a lot about the ww1 so this provided my history lesson for the week . So Bess was our 1 out of the 10,000 sent from NZ to return, and apparently of Australias 130,000 only 1 went back too (Jack?). I find the numbers staggering! One day we want to go to Bulls and visit the memorial (pictured in the book).

There is a lovely bronze statue - quite small, but beautifully done - of Simpson and his donkey in front of the War Memorial in Wellington. Another very sad story...

thevarneys;317732 wrote: Stikkibeak, my daughter and I also read that Brave Bess book. Very sad but so educational for us. I actually didn't know a lot about the ww1 so this provided my history lesson for the week . So Bess was our 1 out of the 10,000 sent from NZ to return, and apparently of Australias 130,000 only 1 went back too (Jack?). I find the numbers staggering! One day we want to go to Bulls and visit the memorial (pictured in the book).

According to the story in Brave Bess, Jack's trooper took him out into the desert and shot him, when he realised they couldn't take them home.



Apparently the Australian horse taken home was called Sandy

Brave Bess is a fantastic book .
I felt it had great facts and information to be able to share with my children , to give them a better understanding of all that war entailed .
It would make a super resource when they are doing a project : )