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.
