Monday 12 November 2012

"War Horse: The Real Story" - Channel 4 OD



The occasion of Remembrance Day often brings out some fine documentaries on television.  While I am generally not a great watcher of television, sometimes I find a programme in the TV schedules which is worth the cost of the UK license fee in itself.

Tucked away on More 4 this weekend was a very fine documentary entitled “War Horse: The Real Story”.  It was a poignant, moving and very well researched documentary about the work, and death, of horses on the Western Front in the Great War.



The documentary is available on Channel 4’s “on demand” service, 4OD, at the present time for free.  I don’t know whether this on demand service extends to residents outside the UK. (I anticipate that, owing to the UK television licensing, it may well not so – which is a great shame).

The programme charts the purchase, training, use, care and deaths of horses in war and battle on the Western Front, giving some incredible statistics for the sheer number of horses which died and suffered in the conflict. All of this is conveyed in a very professional, thoughtful and informed manner.  There is a clear acknowledgement of how traumatic the war was for horses in conflict.  There are many images of the care and concern which men gave to their horses. And there is also a clear recognition in the programme of the invaluable contribution of horses to British and Imperial forces in the Great War.  The indispensable service of the British and Imperial cavalry in the “Hundred Days” campaign in the late summer and autumn of 1918 is well covered.




The experts interviewed are, without exception, excellent.  Dr David Kenyon, author of “Horsemen in No Man’s Land” is a real expert on the mounted arm in the Great War and has, extremely generously,posted his PhD these on the internet for anyone to access here.  I found it invaluable when writing scenarios for Great War cavalry actions a few years ago for one of the TooFatLardies’ Christmas specials. The well-known writer Richard Van Emden speaks very well indeed in the documentary, as does jockey, racing commentator and writer Brough Scott.  I thought Mr Scott’s contribution in the documentary was excellent – his book on General Jack Seeley and his horse Warrior, “Galloper Jack” is certainly worth a look and is an enjoyable read.



If you’re in the UK, and you like a finely made documentary (albeit interspersed with some pretty annoying commercial advert breaks), I’d recommend “War Horse: The Real Story”.


For wargamers wanting to use cavalry in their Great War actions on the tabletop, there are some terrific photos and film sequences in the programme, in addition to which the scale and drama of the horses’ story inspires by itself.  For those lucky enough to live in or near London, there’s also an exhibition at London’s National Army Museum on “WarHorse: Fact and Fiction” which runs until 31 March 2013 and which was visited by Big Lee here with some terrific photos (embarrassingly, despite working in London, I’ve yet to get there).  Watching the programme also reminded me I have a troop of Great War British or Imperial cavalry to finish off at some point; hopefully sooner rather than later!

In all, a very good way to spend an hour rounding off a Remembrance weekend.

21 comments:

  1. A superb write-up, will have to give this one a watch now. If you ever get the chance to see "A Couple of Down and Outs" from 1923 then do, it's a superb film and very much the original "War Horse" - and made barely 5 years after the end of the war too of course.

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    1. Thanks Headologist. I'd never come across "A Couple of Down and Outs" before, but the material online about it sounds fascinating. Thanks so much for mentioning this.

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  2. Sorry to have missed that, I'll need to see if I can get the 4OD to work.

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    1. I had my doubts about 4OD, but for the extra work of registering for the service there are some good things on there if you dig around.

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  3. Thanks for the tip Sidney on some top viewing.

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  4. Sounds so gooood
    But unfortunately not available for those out of Sterling Pound economic area
    :-(

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    1. Ah, I did fear that might be the case, Benito. Sorry! However, I think it's also on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAWJp0y7S4M

      See if that works :)

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    2. Hey, thank you sir; I'll take a look this weekend

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  5. Could be worth a watch Sidney, thanks for that.

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  6. I hope to see it one day! Hopefully our national TV station will buy this documentairy.
    PS: With Channel 4, do you mean BBC4?

    Greetings
    Peter
    http://peterscave.blogspot.be/

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    1. Thanks Peter. It's Channel 4, as opposed to BBC 4. (Channel 4 is a commercial station). As I mentioned to Benito, I think the documentary is on You Tube as well:

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAWJp0y7S4M

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    2. Thanks Sidney! I will have a look at youtube!

      Greetings
      Peter
      http://peterscave.blogspot.be/

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  7. Damn!!! I forgot that was on, 4OD here I come! Thanks for the reminder Sydney!

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  8. Sounds good Sidney. I will try the YouTube link.

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    1. Okay, maybe not. "Not available in this country" I will have to wait.

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    2. Arrrgh, sorry Rodger. I thought as it was YouTube.com there was a chance you could access it. Sorry to get your hopes up.

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  9. Awesome! Thanks for posting this, Sidney. I'm definitely going to check it out.

    You may find this related article interesting. Its about 'Morning Glory', a war horse from Canada and her owner, an MP from Quebec.

    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/11/08/f-war-horse-harry-baker-langan.html

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    1. Curt, that's a terrific story. Many thanks indeed for posting the link.

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