1 00:00:34,830 --> 00:00:39,693 JAMES GRASBY : Easter Saturday, March the 30th, 1918. At Moreuil 2 00:00:39,771 --> 00:00:43,677 Wood near Amiens, the Canadian Cavalry Brigade prepare for 3 00:00:43,779 --> 00:00:44,115 action. 4 00:00:45,685 --> 00:00:49,029 The Germans hold the ridge. If they break through, the allied 5 00:00:49,107 --> 00:00:50,170 front could fall. 6 00:00:52,732 --> 00:00:56,216 Leading the signal troop rides General Jack Seely on his horse, 7 00:00:56,373 --> 00:01:00,728 Warrior. He turns to his men, raises his voice above the wind, 8 00:01:01,228 --> 00:01:06,310 and commands, "Fire on both sides! We are going in!" 9 00:01:06,310 --> 00:01:10,599 Chaos ensues, shells explode, bullets scream through the air. 10 00:01:11,716 --> 00:01:15,216 General Jack Seely and his horse Warrior ride into the storm, red 11 00:01:15,357 --> 00:01:18,888 pennant in hand, the squadron thundering close behind. 12 00:01:20,966 --> 00:01:23,998 The battle that follows will be remembered as one of the 13 00:01:24,091 --> 00:01:26,888 deadliest cavalry charges of the First World War. 14 00:01:38,116 --> 00:01:40,098 ROSIE HOLDSWORTH: Millions of animals served in the First 15 00:01:40,139 --> 00:01:44,443 World War, but few became legends. Warrior, the horse who 16 00:01:44,482 --> 00:01:47,103 carried General Jack Seely through some of the bloodiest 17 00:01:47,143 --> 00:01:51,830 battles of the war, was one of them. Welcome to Wild Tales. I'm 18 00:01:51,869 --> 00:01:54,650 Rosie Holdsworth, and in this episode we hand over to 19 00:01:54,713 --> 00:01:58,228 historian James Grasby for Warrior the War Horse. 20 00:02:05,144 --> 00:02:09,004 JAMES GRASBY : The First World War raged from 1914 to 1918, 21 00:02:09,545 --> 00:02:13,662 drawing in nations across Europe and beyond, where more than 65 22 00:02:13,748 --> 00:02:18,209 million soldiers faced the mud, the blood and the misery of 23 00:02:18,264 --> 00:02:19,068 trench warfare. 24 00:02:20,365 --> 00:02:24,428 Alongside them, millions of horses, mules and donkeys went 25 00:02:24,429 --> 00:02:27,475 to the front, hauling supplies, carrying the wounded and 26 00:02:27,568 --> 00:02:32,537 charging into battle. Few ever came home. Among them was 27 00:02:32,615 --> 00:02:35,774 General Jack Seely and his legendary horse, Warrior. 28 00:02:36,575 --> 00:02:39,016 Together, they would ride through some of the bloodiest 29 00:02:39,098 --> 00:02:40,219 battles of the war. 30 00:02:42,739 --> 00:02:46,067 And in today's episode, we head to the Isle Of Wight to follow 31 00:02:46,207 --> 00:02:47,285 in their footsteps. 32 00:02:53,153 --> 00:02:56,168 It is a glorious spring April day, and I'm standing in the 33 00:02:56,169 --> 00:02:59,704 grounds of stunning Mottistone Manor on the Isle Of Wight. Now 34 00:02:59,724 --> 00:03:02,707 this place is nestled in a very sheltered valley, not far from 35 00:03:02,726 --> 00:03:05,890 the sea, but surrounded by rolling, lush, greenery. 36 00:03:07,132 --> 00:03:09,757 Mottistone Manor was first recorded, I believe, in the 37 00:03:09,773 --> 00:03:11,500 Doomsday Book in 1086. 38 00:03:12,093 --> 00:03:15,718 And today I'm here to walk an unusual and surprising trail. 39 00:03:16,062 --> 00:03:19,625 One that traces the steps of a forgotten hero from the First 40 00:03:19,687 --> 00:03:23,234 World War. Someone who returned from the Western Front against 41 00:03:23,390 --> 00:03:25,453 all odds and unscathed. 42 00:03:26,625 --> 00:03:30,064 But before I set out, I'm going to step inside the manor to meet 43 00:03:30,144 --> 00:03:33,187 somebody who one wouldn't naturally associate with this 44 00:03:33,267 --> 00:03:33,607 story. 45 00:03:34,228 --> 00:03:36,829 I'm just going to come in through the front door with a 46 00:03:36,872 --> 00:03:40,872 two-centred arch, pass some gothic lettering, a wonderful 47 00:03:40,911 --> 00:03:46,115 inscription, and through another low door into an ancient room 48 00:03:46,177 --> 00:03:48,349 with magnificent timbered ceiling. 49 00:03:49,908 --> 00:03:52,011 In front of me is the most striking picture. What a 50 00:03:52,069 --> 00:03:56,495 beautiful horse! A beautiful horse with a gallant, what looks 51 00:03:56,534 --> 00:04:00,819 like a general in uniform. And behind, chalky cliffs, which I 52 00:04:00,835 --> 00:04:05,382 guess are the Isle Of Wight. I don't know. It says 1920s. But I 53 00:04:05,383 --> 00:04:06,429 wonder who this chap is. 54 00:04:07,272 --> 00:04:10,366 As I stand there pondering, I hear footsteps behind me. 55 00:04:11,432 --> 00:04:14,456 I recognise your face, Brough Scott. What a pleasure to meet 56 00:04:14,515 --> 00:04:14,636 you. 57 00:04:15,196 --> 00:04:16,839 BROUGH SCOTT: It's lovely to be here because obviously I've 58 00:04:16,840 --> 00:04:20,417 known this picture since I can remember pictures. And that's 59 00:04:20,464 --> 00:04:23,745 Grandpa on his horse Warrior, which has become quite famous 60 00:04:23,808 --> 00:04:25,667 really as a sort of symbol of the First World War. 61 00:04:26,089 --> 00:04:28,404 JAMES GRASBY : Brough, it's an astonishing story. I mean, to so 62 00:04:28,545 --> 00:04:32,109 many people, you are the face of British racing, TV presenter, 63 00:04:32,367 --> 00:04:36,992 writer. I had no idea that you as well are the grandson of 64 00:04:37,031 --> 00:04:40,398 General Jack Seely. And I've got this relationship with 65 00:04:40,414 --> 00:04:40,875 Mottistone. 66 00:04:41,476 --> 00:04:43,805 BROUGH SCOTT: In fact, Grandpa, who is an extraordinary 67 00:04:43,898 --> 00:04:47,195 Victorian, Edwardian figure that you couldn't invent now, but he 68 00:04:47,226 --> 00:04:49,523 went to the Boer War with a white horse of his called a 69 00:04:49,570 --> 00:04:52,601 Maharaja when he got to the port. Sir you can't take that 70 00:04:52,664 --> 00:04:54,476 white horse, it'd be bad for camouflage. So he took it round 71 00:04:54,492 --> 00:04:57,671 the back and... dyed it brown. I mean, literally. And it went 72 00:04:57,710 --> 00:04:58,534 right through the war with him. 73 00:04:58,956 --> 00:05:03,143 JAMES GRASBY : Between 1899 and 1902, the Boer War raged in 74 00:05:03,203 --> 00:05:07,227 South Africa. It was here that Jack Seely learnt the realities 75 00:05:07,348 --> 00:05:08,766 of battle on horseback. 76 00:05:09,172 --> 00:05:11,234 BROUGH SCOTT: And when he was looking for a replacement to 77 00:05:11,235 --> 00:05:15,672 that horse when he got very old, he saw a thoroughbred mare and 78 00:05:15,673 --> 00:05:18,297 he galloped down after it and bought it there and then off the 79 00:05:18,312 --> 00:05:21,719 man. She was called Cinderella and she was incredibly sweet. 80 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,781 She used to walk round behind him like a dog. My mother can 81 00:05:24,828 --> 00:05:28,672 remember sliding off her back, she was really sweet and her son 82 00:05:28,812 --> 00:05:29,312 was Warrior. 83 00:05:30,636 --> 00:05:33,560 JAMES GRASBY : From the day he is born, Warrior is Jack Seely's 84 00:05:33,660 --> 00:05:37,603 constant companion in both war and peace. They cross the 85 00:05:37,622 --> 00:05:41,470 channel together in 1914, and for the following four years, 86 00:05:41,728 --> 00:05:44,806 they endure the mud and hardships of the Western Front. 87 00:05:47,134 --> 00:05:51,743 Two decades later, in 1935, Jack Seely publishes a book about him 88 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:56,915 called My Horse Warrior. By then, Warrior is 27 and a living 89 00:05:56,978 --> 00:05:58,884 reminder of the bond they share. 90 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,563 BROUGH SCOTT: That book, My Horse Warrior, it's a love 91 00:06:03,622 --> 00:06:07,688 letter to this horse. He would have remembered the last canter 92 00:06:07,727 --> 00:06:11,512 he did alongside his son who got killed, Frank. He remembered him 93 00:06:11,793 --> 00:06:15,114 with his first wife who died. He remembered him through that 94 00:06:15,153 --> 00:06:18,082 picture there of the whole family. The horse was his 95 00:06:18,129 --> 00:06:23,567 connection. It's a testament to a quite unique equine life and 96 00:06:24,004 --> 00:06:25,817 therefore I'm really proud that he recorded it. 97 00:06:28,288 --> 00:06:30,971 JAMES GRASBY : But Warrior's story isn't just published in 98 00:06:31,010 --> 00:06:34,375 books and remembered in portraits. It's written into 99 00:06:34,434 --> 00:06:38,555 this very landscape. And today we set out to trace his hoof 100 00:06:38,618 --> 00:06:42,719 prints on a circular footpath around Mottistone, known as the 101 00:06:42,805 --> 00:06:43,540 Warrior Trail. 102 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,688 Brough, we're just rising up out of the valley from that ancient 103 00:06:50,750 --> 00:06:55,329 house, up a deep and sunken track. This is the beginning of 104 00:06:55,330 --> 00:06:56,032 the trail, I guess. 105 00:06:56,313 --> 00:06:58,220 BROUGH SCOTT: It's a footpath now, but of course... Warrior 106 00:06:58,221 --> 00:07:01,504 and Grandpa would have ridden up here to the Downs. You can 107 00:07:02,606 --> 00:07:06,910 uplift yourself and your mood by going up on the Downs and when I 108 00:07:06,926 --> 00:07:10,473 come down here which I still do a lot I go up on the Downs and 109 00:07:10,474 --> 00:07:12,395 then my spirit lifts. 110 00:07:12,395 --> 00:07:14,481 JAMES GRASBY : And that moment on the Isle Of Wight famously 111 00:07:14,559 --> 00:07:19,074 where the chalk Downs stop beside the sea where they've 112 00:07:19,106 --> 00:07:21,746 been broken away into those incredible cliffs that appear in 113 00:07:21,762 --> 00:07:23,746 the background of that picture we're just looking at 114 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:28,094 BROUGH SCOTT: That particular Chalk Cliff is called Tennyson 115 00:07:28,134 --> 00:07:30,695 Down because that's where Tennyson used to walk up, 116 00:07:31,496 --> 00:07:33,558 purportedly reciting somebody's great verse. 117 00:07:34,539 --> 00:07:38,281 We're walking up towards the Downs, but actually down below, 118 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:42,367 a little bit south of here, is the Yafford Mill where Warrior 119 00:07:42,406 --> 00:07:46,914 was born. We're talking about 1908, and Grandpa was a minister 120 00:07:46,945 --> 00:07:49,320 then, and there was a very stuffy private secretary. 121 00:07:50,101 --> 00:07:57,269 And the guy at the stables, sent a message to Grandpa, which was 122 00:07:57,351 --> 00:08:01,378 handed over by this very stuffy civil servant. The message was, 123 00:08:02,214 --> 00:08:06,097 Cinderella had a booming boy today, mother and son really 124 00:08:06,183 --> 00:08:10,198 well. Lovely phrase that Grandpa said, well, Yafford is one of 125 00:08:10,199 --> 00:08:13,480 the most delightful places one could possibly choose to be 126 00:08:13,511 --> 00:08:13,761 born. 127 00:08:14,864 --> 00:08:17,684 JAMES GRASBY : Lovely. And before us, a bridal way. We're 128 00:08:17,705 --> 00:08:23,028 into the shade of a SBorycamore in flower. Which way are we 129 00:08:23,082 --> 00:08:23,567 heading, Brough? 130 00:08:24,082 --> 00:08:27,223 BROUGH SCOTT: We're going south-west, up onto Brook Down, 131 00:08:28,207 --> 00:08:32,075 and out ahead of us we'll see the totemic chalk cliffs of 132 00:08:32,762 --> 00:08:33,481 Freshwater Down. 133 00:08:34,184 --> 00:08:35,981 JAMES GRASBY : And it's chalky underfoot, isn't it? 134 00:08:36,388 --> 00:08:37,153 BROUGH SCOTT: you can see the chalk. 135 00:08:41,624 --> 00:08:43,126 JAMES GRASBY : Brough, the view is beginning to open. 136 00:08:43,746 --> 00:08:46,888 BROUGH SCOTT: Below us is Sidling Paul, which is where a 137 00:08:46,908 --> 00:08:50,509 Warrior ran with his mother Cinderella as a yearling and a 138 00:08:50,572 --> 00:08:53,712 two-year-old. And indeed, where Grandpa got on him the first 139 00:08:53,736 --> 00:08:56,501 time and he immediately bucked him off. And then you go on down 140 00:08:56,614 --> 00:09:03,287 past the church. Where actually in 1917 Grandpa came back from 141 00:09:03,288 --> 00:09:07,334 the war and Cinderella - he was particularly close to the mother 142 00:09:07,335 --> 00:09:12,233 of Warrior- and he went to see her, she'd gone got pretty old 143 00:09:12,293 --> 00:09:12,654 by then. 144 00:09:13,054 --> 00:09:16,718 When he whistled, she came running up to him and very 145 00:09:16,796 --> 00:09:20,581 obviously recognised him. The next day was a Sunday. They'd 146 00:09:20,620 --> 00:09:24,167 walk up there to the church, and when they walked up, Cinderella 147 00:09:24,183 --> 00:09:27,706 was lying there dead, and she had kept herself alive to see 148 00:09:27,753 --> 00:09:28,175 him again. 149 00:09:28,894 --> 00:09:33,519 I know my mother was very struck by that image, and so was my 150 00:09:33,534 --> 00:09:38,113 grandfather. Again, it's always a danger, this anthropological, 151 00:09:38,597 --> 00:09:41,557 putting human sentiments into horses, but they still have 152 00:09:41,697 --> 00:09:46,507 sentiments and that one was a very much I think stay alive for 153 00:09:46,508 --> 00:09:50,054 something and then it's over and I like to think of that. 154 00:09:52,194 --> 00:09:54,843 JAMES GRASBY : As we leave Sidling Paul we follow the lane 155 00:09:54,898 --> 00:09:59,530 past Brook House where Jack And Warrior are based until 1925. 156 00:09:59,531 --> 00:10:03,192 From here the path drops down towards Brook Bay, a stretch of 157 00:10:03,231 --> 00:10:06,755 coastline long associated with shipwrecks and treacherous seas. 158 00:10:07,317 --> 00:10:11,458 And it's here that Jack first realises Warrior has the makings 159 00:10:11,637 --> 00:10:12,520 of a warhorse. 160 00:10:17,091 --> 00:10:19,762 Brough, we're down on the beach and this beach has a special 161 00:10:19,825 --> 00:10:21,997 place in Warrior's story, hasn't it? 162 00:10:22,669 --> 00:10:25,028 BROUGH SCOTT: It wasn't called Warrior entirely by chance. The 163 00:10:25,091 --> 00:10:27,216 likelihood of him being a cavalry horse was always there. 164 00:10:27,216 --> 00:10:30,445 And If you're going to be a cavalry horse, you're going to 165 00:10:30,446 --> 00:10:31,346 have to be brave. 166 00:10:31,486 --> 00:10:36,713 And so what he did from a very young age, he went and stood him 167 00:10:37,611 --> 00:10:42,979 in the waves. Grandpa had a very vivid memory is that he was 168 00:10:43,057 --> 00:10:46,221 trembling, but he would stand there, even though the waves 169 00:10:46,283 --> 00:10:49,143 came in and hit him. One of them knocked him over. 170 00:10:49,518 --> 00:10:53,502 But he realised then, he said, that this horse was brave 171 00:10:53,549 --> 00:10:57,804 because he would stand and he would face something. And of 172 00:10:57,805 --> 00:11:02,748 course later in life he stood and faced shells and rifle fire 173 00:11:03,650 --> 00:11:07,353 with men behind him and was inspiration as you can imagine. 174 00:11:09,416 --> 00:11:12,119 JAMES GRASBY : As the waves break over his horse's legs, 175 00:11:12,376 --> 00:11:17,720 Jack Seely senses Warrior's destiny. At six, Warrior is sent 176 00:11:17,830 --> 00:11:21,564 to military school in Rutland. Then in August 1914, as war 177 00:11:21,626 --> 00:11:26,173 breaks out in Europe, Jack and Warrior set sail to Le Havre to 178 00:11:26,251 --> 00:11:28,418 face t he battlefields of France. 179 00:11:31,101 --> 00:11:34,222 The following year, when Jack Seely takes command of the 180 00:11:34,242 --> 00:11:37,429 Canadian Cavalry Brigade, Warrior returns briefly to 181 00:11:37,508 --> 00:11:41,211 England for further training, but by Christmas they are back 182 00:11:41,289 --> 00:11:44,359 at the front, and from then until the war's end Warrior 183 00:11:44,468 --> 00:11:47,734 never leaves it, through the battles at the Somme, the horror 184 00:11:47,843 --> 00:11:51,062 at Ypres, and the endless mud of Passchendaele. 185 00:11:52,562 --> 00:11:57,932 There is traumatic and famous early film footage of mules and 186 00:11:58,053 --> 00:12:01,614 horses in the deep mud of Passchendaele, getting stuck 187 00:12:01,715 --> 00:12:05,356 down to the tops of their legs in mud, struggling to get out. I 188 00:12:05,357 --> 00:12:09,793 mean, the mud was a dreadful killer of pack horses and 189 00:12:09,832 --> 00:12:12,731 cavalry horses. Was that something that Warrior 190 00:12:12,778 --> 00:12:14,278 experienced at first hand? 191 00:12:14,949 --> 00:12:18,418 BROUGH SCOTT: Not for the first time he was lucky to be a 192 00:12:18,934 --> 00:12:22,653 general's horse, or he certainly wouldn't have survived. Because 193 00:12:23,121 --> 00:12:26,879 there was usually a hard area where you could probably be 194 00:12:26,898 --> 00:12:30,164 alright. But if you strayed off it for any reason, you'd go into 195 00:12:30,165 --> 00:12:33,468 the mud, it'd be so difficult, you couldn't pull the horse out, 196 00:12:33,508 --> 00:12:34,890 it would take too many people. 197 00:12:36,468 --> 00:12:39,554 Quite early on they would decide, relieve the pain, shoot 198 00:12:39,555 --> 00:12:45,672 the horse, take the saddle off. Warrior went in, but he had the 199 00:12:45,672 --> 00:12:48,640 general, and he had people around him, and they really 200 00:12:48,781 --> 00:12:51,484 heaved and pulled and they got him out. But if he'd been an 201 00:12:51,500 --> 00:12:52,718 ordinary horse he probably wouldn't have got out. 202 00:12:53,548 --> 00:12:55,750 JAMES GRASBY : For Warrior, it's a lucky escape. 203 00:12:56,310 --> 00:12:58,533 BROUGH SCOTT: I did count it up once I think it's seven times 204 00:12:58,592 --> 00:13:01,775 when at least 50 - 50 he would have got killed. I mean, very 205 00:13:01,838 --> 00:13:05,963 early on, bullets coming through. The horse next to him 206 00:13:06,361 --> 00:13:10,830 being shot, that happened twice. Him standing nose to nose with 207 00:13:10,846 --> 00:13:14,408 another horse, and while he was standing there, the other horse 208 00:13:14,705 --> 00:13:15,502 has a bullet through it. 209 00:13:16,955 --> 00:13:20,292 JAMES GRASBY : Time and again, Warrior defies death. Bullets, 210 00:13:20,853 --> 00:13:26,419 collapsing buildings, shells landing close by. By now, it's 211 00:13:26,438 --> 00:13:29,599 becoming clear Warrior is no ordinary horse. 212 00:13:31,645 --> 00:13:36,841 Brough, take me to France in 1918 and the charge at Moreuil. 213 00:13:37,888 --> 00:13:41,106 BROUGH SCOTT: The Canadian Cavalry were basically circling 214 00:13:41,153 --> 00:13:45,513 the German advance. Big scare was that the Germans got to 215 00:13:45,638 --> 00:13:48,747 Amiens and fundamentally it could be over. 216 00:13:49,676 --> 00:13:51,799 Grandpa was in charge of the Canadian Cavalry, about a 217 00:13:51,819 --> 00:13:56,623 thousand men and horses. And he was told not to get too 218 00:13:56,643 --> 00:14:00,627 involved, and he saw the Germans had broken through. So he 219 00:14:00,690 --> 00:14:04,174 decided, regardless of any instructions, he needed to take 220 00:14:04,175 --> 00:14:04,627 it back. 221 00:14:05,588 --> 00:14:08,502 The important thing, you had a signal group, which were the 222 00:14:08,518 --> 00:14:13,221 people to go up in front - a spearhead of 16 people - and you 223 00:14:13,299 --> 00:14:15,034 planted a big pennant. 224 00:14:15,992 --> 00:14:19,433 Because then the units coming galloping up behind would know 225 00:14:19,634 --> 00:14:21,595 one lot had to go left of the panel, the other would go right 226 00:14:21,614 --> 00:14:25,552 the pennant. Of course, being Grandpa and Warrior, Warrior led 227 00:14:25,575 --> 00:14:26,411 it. 228 00:14:26,411 --> 00:14:30,575 Anyway, they came up and six of the guys got shot. You are 229 00:14:30,638 --> 00:14:33,200 literally galloping into bullets. 230 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,435 Imagine the scene you've got five hundred six hundred horses 231 00:14:35,497 --> 00:14:38,731 galloping up behind you and all going round and then actually 232 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:44,380 entering this wood, leave your horses. You then march in with 233 00:14:44,561 --> 00:14:49,930 bayonets fixed, you know, thrusting and disemboweling, 234 00:14:49,931 --> 00:14:52,355 things like that. It was hand-to-hand fighting. 235 00:14:53,316 --> 00:14:57,121 And one of the German reports, it was hell in Moreuil Wood, and 236 00:14:57,122 --> 00:14:59,965 I bet it was. But, you know, the fact is, Warrior survived it. 237 00:15:02,049 --> 00:15:04,852 JAMES GRASBY : The battle at Moreuil Wood becomes one of the 238 00:15:04,934 --> 00:15:09,255 last great cavalry actions of the First World War. Later, 239 00:15:09,536 --> 00:15:13,083 General Seely would write, "I knew that moment to be the 240 00:15:13,161 --> 00:15:17,950 supreme moment of my life." 241 00:15:17,950 --> 00:15:22,216 Warrior is one of the lucky ones. Over eight million horses, 242 00:15:22,403 --> 00:15:26,591 donkeys and mules perish in the First World War. Many drown in 243 00:15:26,592 --> 00:15:30,926 the mud, are hit by gunfire, or simply die of cold and 244 00:15:30,945 --> 00:15:31,525 exhaustion. 245 00:15:34,932 --> 00:15:38,330 A month later, General Jack Seely is gassed, and as he 246 00:15:38,392 --> 00:15:40,978 recuperates, Warrior stays by his side. 247 00:15:42,517 --> 00:15:46,619 By Christmas that year, the war is finally over. Jack And 248 00:15:46,728 --> 00:15:49,166 Warrior both return home to Brook on the Isle Of Wight. In 249 00:15:49,167 --> 00:15:55,275 1925, they move to Mottistone, where Warrior spends the rest of 250 00:15:55,322 --> 00:15:55,916 his days. 251 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,803 Brough, that was a wonderful walk. A wonderful walk, tracking 252 00:16:01,804 --> 00:16:04,167 the story of Warrior and your grandfather. And we've now come 253 00:16:04,186 --> 00:16:07,210 back to a really lovely, panelled room somewhere in the 254 00:16:07,225 --> 00:16:10,288 north part of this great manor house. And we've got a pot of 255 00:16:10,389 --> 00:16:10,608 tea. 256 00:16:11,194 --> 00:16:11,749 BROUGH SCOTT: Much needed. 257 00:16:12,296 --> 00:16:14,577 JAMES GRASBY : I've got the book that your grandfather wrote and 258 00:16:14,592 --> 00:16:17,092 that you republished. And there's this lovely photograph 259 00:16:17,202 --> 00:16:21,608 here of your grandfather on Warrior outside this house. 260 00:16:21,624 --> 00:16:22,530 What's going on here? 261 00:16:23,327 --> 00:16:27,941 BROUGH SCOTT: It's typical in many ways. It's 1934. Grandpa is 262 00:16:27,961 --> 00:16:35,612 in his 60s, Warrior is 26 years old, and Queen Mary's there. And 263 00:16:35,768 --> 00:16:39,369 she would have been at Cowes, and Grandpa is in his Cowes 264 00:16:39,471 --> 00:16:43,401 yachting kit, which is a yachting cap, blue blazer and 265 00:16:43,479 --> 00:16:44,494 white slacks. 266 00:16:45,057 --> 00:16:47,885 And what the Queen clearly would have done is saying, "Oh, I'd 267 00:16:47,886 --> 00:16:50,322 love to see Warrior." So they brought Warrior out of the 268 00:16:50,338 --> 00:16:53,338 field, and he would have said, " Look, here he is," and he would 269 00:16:53,339 --> 00:16:57,236 have jumped up on him. So he's riding Warrior bareback. And the 270 00:16:57,237 --> 00:16:58,017 Queen is patting him. 271 00:16:58,316 --> 00:17:00,718 JAMES GRASBY : So Warrior, a great celebrity. And by the 272 00:17:00,737 --> 00:17:05,597 sound of it, Warrior lived to an extraordinary age. He went on 273 00:17:05,722 --> 00:17:06,159 and on. 274 00:17:06,659 --> 00:17:08,276 BROUGH SCOTT: It's one of the most extraordinary things of 275 00:17:08,315 --> 00:17:13,284 all, really. And there's a terrific picture of Grandpa and 276 00:17:13,362 --> 00:17:18,237 Warrior outside Mottistone Manor with Grandpa riding him when 277 00:17:18,315 --> 00:17:22,695 Grandpa's 70 and Warrior's 30. I mean, 30 is very old for a 278 00:17:22,695 --> 00:17:25,362 horse. And he's had the saddest of ends. 279 00:17:27,868 --> 00:17:31,673 In 1941, things are very, very rough in England. And, you know, 280 00:17:31,674 --> 00:17:35,114 it looks like we might well lose the war. And Warrior's getting 281 00:17:35,177 --> 00:17:37,759 very ropey. And through the winter, Warrior was having to 282 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:41,985 have a lot of oats, things to keep him going. And Grandpa had 283 00:17:41,986 --> 00:17:45,649 to decide, look, people are beginning to grumble. So we're 284 00:17:45,650 --> 00:17:46,634 going to have to put him down. 285 00:17:47,587 --> 00:17:50,415 JAMES GRASBY : During the Second World War, rationing means food 286 00:17:50,493 --> 00:17:53,977 and fodder is desperately scarce. Non-essential animals, 287 00:17:54,212 --> 00:17:58,430 retired horses, pets, even zoo animals were put down. As there 288 00:17:58,449 --> 00:18:02,072 simply wasn't enough to keep them alive. It was in this 289 00:18:02,131 --> 00:18:07,420 climate in 1941 that Warrior, by then 32 years old, is finally 290 00:18:07,678 --> 00:18:08,537 laid to rest. 291 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,342 BROUGH SCOTT: This is the saddest bit really. He said he 292 00:18:12,443 --> 00:18:18,889 couldn't bear to be there when the vet came to put him down. 293 00:18:19,951 --> 00:18:24,944 But he wrote in his notebook, Warrior had been put down. He 294 00:18:25,004 --> 00:18:29,670 said to quote poet Byron about his dog, Boatswain, "I do not 295 00:18:29,748 --> 00:18:36,897 believe he'll be denied in heaven the soul he had on 296 00:18:36,975 --> 00:18:40,702 earth," which is rather a lovely thing to have written in your 297 00:18:40,741 --> 00:18:41,123 diary. 298 00:18:42,248 --> 00:18:45,498 JAMES GRASBY : After more than three decades at Jack's side, 299 00:18:45,702 --> 00:18:49,233 Warrior's Death makes national news with the Times publishing 300 00:18:49,264 --> 00:18:52,373 an obituary and the Evening Standard running the headline, 301 00:18:52,655 --> 00:18:56,547 The Horse... The Germans couldn't kill. But Warrior's 302 00:18:56,588 --> 00:18:57,991 story doesn't end there. 303 00:18:58,709 --> 00:19:02,530 In 1935, Jack Seeley writes a book about his beloved charger, 304 00:19:02,795 --> 00:19:08,116 My Horse Warrior, a love letter to their bond. And in 2012, 305 00:19:08,381 --> 00:19:11,623 Brough republishes the book, keeping his grandfather's words 306 00:19:11,655 --> 00:19:16,780 alive for a new generation. In 2014, 100 years after the 307 00:19:16,873 --> 00:19:21,905 outbreak of World War I, Warrior is posthumously awarded the PDSA 308 00:19:22,233 --> 00:19:25,070 Dickin Medal. The Animals Victoria Cross. 309 00:19:26,191 --> 00:19:30,314 BROUGH SCOTT: It was an extremely proud moment for me 310 00:19:30,455 --> 00:19:37,564 and my family because Warrior was given this medal on behalf 311 00:19:37,565 --> 00:19:41,869 of all the animals who suffered in the first war. And it was a 312 00:19:42,525 --> 00:19:48,634 wonderful thing and the recognition that that horse born 313 00:19:48,650 --> 00:19:53,172 at Yafford two miles from here at Mottistone who spent all of 314 00:19:53,173 --> 00:19:58,158 his life, in the Isle Of Wight, with the minor exception of four 315 00:19:58,216 --> 00:20:00,312 years when, according to Grandpa, he won the war 316 00:20:00,352 --> 00:20:04,717 single-handed, that he should be honoured on behalf of all the 317 00:20:04,737 --> 00:20:09,459 others, is something that we are all very, very proud. 318 00:20:11,225 --> 00:20:13,522 JAMES GRASBY : From the cliffs of the Isle Of Wight to the 319 00:20:13,545 --> 00:20:16,811 battlefields of France, Warrior's story is one of 320 00:20:16,873 --> 00:20:22,842 loyalty, courage and survival against all odds. As we honour 321 00:20:22,873 --> 00:20:26,342 the soldiers who never came home, let us also remember the 322 00:20:26,436 --> 00:20:28,467 animals who stood beside them. 323 00:20:40,733 --> 00:20:42,460 ROSIE HOLDSWORTH: Thank you for listening to this episode of 324 00:20:42,476 --> 00:20:46,640 Wild Tales i hope you enjoyed it if Warrior's tale has inspired 325 00:20:46,702 --> 00:20:49,780 you you'll find more history stories in our sister podcast 326 00:20:49,882 --> 00:21:06,284 back when i'm Rosie Holdsworth, I'll see you next time.