Brave Bess and the ANZAC Horses Read online

  scabbard a cover for the blade of a sword, dagger or bayonet

  semaphore a system of sending messages by holding two flags in certain positions following an alphabetic code

  signaller person working in military communications

  slouch hat a hat with a soft, wide brim

  sniper someone who shoots from a hiding place

  ARABIC GLOSSARY

  Bedouin a nomadic Arab who lives in the desert

  bir a well

  dhow an Arab sailing vessel with one or more large triangular sails

  fanatis a metal water container

  felucca a small sailing boat used on the Nile River

  hod a sandy hollow in the desert with date palms and usually a well

  khamsin a hot desert wind

  minaret a slender tower on top of a mosque

  mosque a Muslim place of worship

  muezzin a man who calls Muslims to prayer from the minaret of a mosque

  tel a mound or hill, often on the site of an ancient settlement

  wadi a riverbed

  APPENDIX

  World War One (1914–1918)

  World War One was a long and terrible war. It involved more countries, cost more lives, and caused more destruction than any previous war. Nearly 10 million soldiers and more than 6 million civilians died during the four years of war. Most of the battles took place in Europe, mainly in France and Belgium.

  Two groups of nations fought against each other in World War One. The group called ‘the Central Powers’ included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria. The other group was called ‘the Allies’. The main Allied powers were France, Britain, Russia and the United States. New Zealand and Australia fought with Britain and the Allies.

  There were many reasons for World War One. The powerful European nations distrusted and feared one another. Different nations set up alliances, or agreements, to help each other if they were attacked. The spark that set off the war was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the killing. Germany supported Austria-Hungary. Russia and France took Serbia’s side. Gradually, other nations joined one side or the other.

  New Zealand entered the war when Britain, the ‘Mother Country’, joined on the side of the Allies. Many New Zealanders still thought of Britain as home. Where Britain went, so too did New Zealand. The total population of New Zealand in 1914 was just over 1 million. More than 100,000 New Zealand men went overseas to fight. More than 18,500 never came home.

  The War in the Middle East

  The fighting in the Middle East during World War One is sometimes called the ‘forgotten war’. So many of the major battles of the war were fought in Europe that the Middle East conflict is often overlooked. Yet the story of the mounted riflemen in the Sinai and Palestine is a remarkable one.

  In Europe, the Allies fought mainly against the Germans and Austro-Hungarians in muddy cold trenches and flat fields. In the Middle East, they fought mainly against the Turks across vast, hot deserts and rocky mountains. It was a very different war, although no less terrible.

  The Turks entered the war on the side of Germany and the Central Powers in late October 1914. The Turkish Ottoman Empire controlled much of the Middle East, including Palestine, Syria and Arabia. When the Turks tried to attack Egypt and seize the Suez Canal, the Allies had to act swiftly. The Suez Canal was the lifeline between Britain and her colonies.

  After fighting unmounted at Gallipoli, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade joined with the Australian Light Horse to form the Anzac Mounted Division. The Anzacs were charged with the defence of the Suez Canal. They then had the task of driving the Turks out of the Sinai Desert.

  In early 1917, combined Anzac, British and Allied troops invaded Palestine and pursued the Turks across the plains and mountains. They captured Jerusalem in December 1917 and pushed on towards Damascus. Meanwhile, a British soldier by the name of T.E. Lawrence (later known as Lawrence of Arabia) led an Arab army against the Turks in Arabia. Both armies entered Damascus in October 1918. Within a month, Turkey had surrendered.

  More than 10,000 New Zealand horsemen of the New Zealand Mounted Brigade served in the Middle East campaign. They fought and overcame a stubborn and tough Turkish Army on battlefields stretching from the Suez Canal to the Dead Sea. More than 500 New Zealanders lost their lives there.

  A Brief History of the Horse in War

  People first used horses in battle over 5,000 years ago. They hurled their spears from chariots pulled by small, fast horses. Armed horse-riders, or cavalry, were used from the time of Alexander the Great, who conquered half the ancient world on horseback. Roman soldiers also rode swift horses into battle. Of course, in those times there were no guns or gunpowder, and the men were armed with spears, bows and sabres. They often charged headlong into battle and fought hand-to-hand from their horses.

  In 1066, William the Conqueror used mounted knights to invade England. The English began to breed big, powerful war horses called ‘chargers’ that could carry men armed with long lances and wearing heavy suits of armour. But once guns and gunpowder were invented, swift, light horses again replaced the large mounts of the knights. The cavalrymen had to be able to advance quickly into battle to fight on horseback with swords and lances, and dismount easily to fire at their enemies.

  The War Horse in World War One

  World War One saw many changes in the use of the horse in war. Developments in weaponry meant that it was almost impossible for cavalry to charge directly into battle. Soldiers charging on horseback were no match for automatic weapons, high explosives and shells. On the battlefields of Europe, the war also became bogged down in the muddy trenches. There was no place for swift mounted attacks against barricaded trenches, barbed wire and machine guns.

  However, in the Middle East the mounted riflemen and their horses still had a vital role to play. Here, there were vast distances to travel, and wheeled transport could not pass easily across the desert sands. On their horses, the Anzacs were able to cover great distances swiftly and push the enemy back across the huge expanse. This war could not have been won without the horses.

  On both fronts, horses and mules were used to carry food, supplies and ammunition, and teams of heavy draught horses hauled the artillery guns and ambulance wagons. Against modern weapons and machines, the horses were easy targets. The lack of food and water, and the harsh conditions — from the freezing cold of Europe to the blazing heat of the desert — also took its terrible toll on the horses.

  More than 8 million horses died on both sides in World War One. Most of these horses came from Europe, the United States and Canada. But more than 10,000 New Zealand horses and more than 130,000 Australian horses were shipped across the sea to the other side of the world to fight. It is believed only one Australian horse returned home from the Middle East.

  Sandy, Australia’s Only War Horse to Return Home

  The troopers of the Australian Light Horse faced the same tough decisions as the New Zealanders at the end of the war. What to do with their horses. The same quarantine restrictions meant that their trusted friends could not return home with them.

  Only one horse returned to Australia from the war in the Middle East. His name was Sandy, the mount of Major General Sir William Bridges, commander in chief of the Australian Imperial Forces. The General was killed at Gallipoli, and Sandy was shipped back to Melbourne to walk in the State Funeral procession. He carried nothing but the General’s empty saddle, the General’s riding boots facing backwards in the stirrups in military tradition.

  Like Bess, Sandy was put out to grass, in Canberra until he, too, died of old age.

  On the gates of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney is a bronze plaque honouring the brave horses that served in World War One. It reads:

  They suffered wounds, thirst, hunger and weariness almost beyond endurance but never failed. They did not come home. We will never forget them.

  The Old War Horse M
emorial Hospital

  In 1930, twelve years after the war had ended, an English woman named Dorothy Brooke visited Cairo in Egypt. She saw hundreds of hungry horses being beaten and forced to haul heavy loads through the city streets. The wife of a British army general, Dorothy Brooke was horrified to discover that many of these broken-down old horses were ex-cavalry horses of the British, Australian and New Zealand forces. All of them had seen service in World War One. When the conflict ended, just as the troopers had feared, the unlucky ones had found themselves facing a life of misery.

  Dorothy Brooke could not shake off the memory of these sad and pitiful creatures. On her return to England, she wrote a letter to the newspaper telling of their plight. The public was so upset that they sent donations to her Old War Horse Fund to help end the suffering of these once proud and brave horses.

  Dorothy bought 5,000 of the ex-cavalry horses. Many were very old and sick, and had to be humanely put down after a few days of loving care. But the rest ended their last years peacefully in her care. In 1934, she set up the Old War Horse Memorial Hospital in Cairo, with the promise of free veterinary care for all the city’s working horses, mules and donkeys.

  Since that time long ago, the Brooke — as it’s now named, after its founder — has grown into an international horse welfare charity. It works to improve the lives of horses, mules and donkeys working in the poorest parts of the world, and help the people who depend upon them for their livelihood. It provides free veterinary care for the animals and training for their owners. From the sufferings of Bess, Sandy, Flame, Jack and all those thousands of other brave horses, something wonderful has grown.

  If you’d like to learn more visit:

  http://www.thebrooke.org

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  Books

  Idriess, Ion. The Desert Column: Leaves from the diary of an Australian trooper in Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine. Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 2nd edn, 1951.

  Kinloch, Terry. Devils on Horses: In the words of the Anzacs in the Middle East 1916–19. Exisle Publishing, Auckland, 2007.

  Kinloch, Terry. Echoes of Gallipoli: In the words of New Zealand’s Mounted Riflemen. Exisle Publishing, Auckland, 2005.

  Moore, Lieutenant A. Briscoe. The Mounted Riflemen in Sinai and Palestine: The story of New Zealand’s crusaders. Whitcombe and Tombs, Dunedin, 1920.

  Nicol, Sergeant C.G. The Story of Two Campaigns: Official war history of the Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment, 1914–1919. Wilson and Horton, 1931.

  Powles, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Guy. The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine. Whitcombe and Tombs, Wellington, 1922.

  Pugsley, Christopher. The Anzac Experience: New Zealand, Australia and Empire in the First World War. Reed Books, Auckland, 2004.

  Stowers, R. Waikato Troopers: History of the Waikato Mounted Rifles. Richard Stowers, Hamilton, N.Z., 2008.

  Wilkie, A.H. Official War History of the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment 1914–1919. Whitcombe and Tombs, 1921.

  Internet

  Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database. http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/130/cenotaph-database

  The Australian Light Horse Association. URL: http://www.lighthorse.org.au

  The Brooke. URL: http://www.thebrooke.org

  The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Association. URL: http://www.nzmr.org.nz

  DVD

  All the King’s Horses. A documentary written and produced by Paul Sanderson, 2006.

  Thesis

  Wilson, Marcus. A History of New Zealand’s Military Horse. MA thesis in History, University of Canterbury, 2007.

  LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

  A trooper fires his rifle while his horse lies obediently at his side.

  Courtesy of Richard Stowers

  The horses ready for departure at the start of World War One.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, G- 17739-1/1

  The horses in deck stalls on their way to Egypt. The horses on the top deck had more room than those below, but they suffered more in the bad weather.

  Courtesy of Richard Stowers

  Horses being unloaded by sling from their ship to waiting pontoons.

  Australian War Memorial, P00821.001

  A trooper with his horse saddled up ready to march.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, PAColl-5456-1-06-1

  The troopers on camels in front of the Sphinx and the Pyramids near Cairo in Egypt.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, G- 12827-1/1

  A pack camel loaded up and waiting to move out.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, F- 66820-1/2

  A trooper and his horse in the desert sandhills. Below them stand rows of canvas watering troughs.

  Courtesy of Matt Pomeroy

  An exhausted horse and troopers take a well-earned rest.

  Courtesy of New Zealand Mounted Rifles

  Horses line up in the welcome shade of a hod.

  Courtesy of Cambridge Museum

  Horses enjoying ‘feed-up’ time.

  Courtesy of Cambridge Museum

  Wounded men, both sitting and lying, carried away on cacolets.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, G- 9558-1/4

  A team of horses haul a heavy gun carriage across the desert.

  Australian War Memorial, HO3857

  Cameliers of the Imperial Camel Corps line up on their camels.

  Australian War Memorial, BO1627

  A trooper feeds his tired horse by hand.

  Courtesy of Mark Rhodes

  Horses graze on the plains of Palestine. This was the first grass the horses had seen after months in the Sinai Desert; note the huge cactus hedge to the left.

  Courtesy of Dave Oldham

  An officer watches helplessly as horses are bombed during the second battle of Gaza.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, PA1-q-605-22a-1

  This photograph is described as the charge of the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba. But some historians question this. It’s more likely a re-enactment of the charge.

  Australian War Memorial, AO2684

  A worn-out horse and trooper after battle.

  Courtesy of Matt Pomeroy

  An ambulance team carries injured troopers away to be treated.

  Australian War Memorial, B00449

  New Zealanders raise the British flag outside the Jaffa town hall.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, PA1-q-605-34-2

  New Zealand troopers file down into the Jordan Valley.

  Alexander Turnbull Library, F- 66833-1/2

  The mounted riflemen gallop into Jericho. This is a rare action shot.

  Courtesy of Richard Stowers

  The troopers and their horses bathe in the Dead Sea.

  Courtesy of Matt Pomeroy

  Troopers on the march near Jerusalem.

  Australian War Memorial, BO1619

  The mounted riflemen cross a pontoon bridge built over the Jordan River.

  Courtesy of Richard Stowers

  A farrier works on horses in the arid Jordan Valley.

  Courtesy of Richard Stowers

  A row of dummy horses at a camp in the Jordan Valley.

  Australian War Memorial, BO2667

  A trooper reads a letter from home while his trusty friend looks on.

  Courtesy of Matt Pomeroy

  Bess’s memorial stone in the fields near Bulls.

  Courtesy of Lionel Crawley

  Bess, free of her saddle at last.

  Courtesy of Terry Kinloch

  Mrs Brooke in Cairo with some of the rescued war horses.

  Courtesy of the Brooke

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Susan Brocker lives with her husband and many pets, including horses, on a small farm near Tauranga. While she has written numerous books for children, these have been mainly for the American educational market. This is her third novel for Kiwi kids, following Restless Spirit and the bestselling Saving Sam.

  COPYRIGHT

  Icon used throughout the text kindly supplied by its copy
right holder, Richard Stowers

  National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Brocker, Susan, 1961-

  Brave Bess and the Anzac horses / Susan Brocker.

  ISBN 978-1-86950-791-6

  1. New Zealand.—Army—Cavalry—History—World War, 1914-1918—Juvenile literature. 2. Cavalry horses— New Zealand—History—Juvenile literature. 3. World War, 1914-1918—New Zealand—Juvenile literature. [1. Cavalry. 2. Horses. 3. World War, 1914-1918.] I. Title.

  357.10993—dc 22

  First published 2010

  This edition published in 2013

  HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1, Shortland Street, Auckland 1140

  Copyright © Susan Brocker 2010

  Susan Brocker asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.

  ISBN: 978 1 86950 791 6 (pbk)

  ISBN: 978 0 73044 605 7 (epub)

  Cover design by Matt Stanton and Priscilla Nielsen

  Cover images of horse, postcard, ID card, badge and compass courtesy of Steve Butler/NZRM Association; photo of John Currie (left), H Reed and horse courtesy of Mildred Funnell; all other images by shutterstock.com