I received this email as a poignant reminder of how cruel wars are, not just for the brave men and women who fought in them, but for the horses, mules and donkeys who were taken from their homes to a world of horror no-one could have dreamed of. The unsung heroes.
Please read this email and do what you can to help these brave animals through the world wide suffering they still endure to this day
Rita
Image: Major General the Rt Hon Jack Seely on his war horse Warrior
Credit: Painting by Sir Alfred Munnings
“His escapes were quite wonderful. Again and again he survived when death seemed certain… It was not all hazard; sometimes it was due to his intelligence.” — General Jack Seely, about Warrior
Dear Rita,
Warrior was born on the Isle of Wight in 1908. By 1914, he was sent to fight on the Western Front with General Jack Seely. Through mud, shells, machine-gun fire, and unimaginable chaos at the Somme and Ypres, he survived. At Passchendaele he was buried under debris, often stuck in the mud, twice trapped under the burning beams of his stables. Yet he came home. He lived until he was 33. Warrior’s story is one of bravery, survival, and love.
He was not alone. More than 8 million horses, donkeys and mules served in the First World War. Most never made it back.
The Animals in War Memorial Service starts at 11am GMT on 7 November 2025 |
|---|
While Warrior’s battles are finished, thousands of working animals still face hardship every day – animals carrying water, helping families, pulling ploughs, just to make a living possible.
We’re honoured to join Petplan’s Animals in War Memorial Service to remember those animals, past and present.
Mules rarely stood in the spotlight, but their courage was no less real. In World War I, they were valued for their endurance: fewer supplies needed, better tolerance to heat and cold, less vulnerable to disease. Mule trains carried vital ammunition and supplies through muddy trenches, sometimes working 14-16 hour shifts under fire.
One mule, carrying soldiers’ mail, acted instinctively as the hillside beneath him gave way, pushing his handler to safety and saving the letters that meant the world to the men at the front. It was an act no one forgot.
While Warrior’s battles are finished, thousands of working animals still face hardship every day – animals carrying water, helping families, pulling ploughs, just to make a living possible.
We’re honoured to join Petplan’s Animals in War Memorial Service to remember those animals, past and present.
|
|
|
|---|
Warrior lived because of courage. So many others gave everything. Thank you for remembering with us, and for helping their stories live on, not just today, but for generations.
With gratitude,
Kylie Thurley
Digital Marketing Manager
|
|---|
|
|---|
|
|---|
|
|---|
|
|---|
|
|---|
