Animals in the Great War (ePub)
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
File Size: 8.4 MB (.epub)
Illustrations: 32
ISBN: 9781473865532
Published: 17th June 2019
National publicity!
As seen in the Daily Mail, May 2019: 'They also served: Cats, rabbits and even the bear that inspired Winnie the Pooh appear in remarkable photos of the 16 million animals caught up in World War One'
Animals in the Great War looks at the use of animals by all sides in the Great War and to what effect. In the main, it focuses greatly on horses, dogs and pigeons but also addresses the war efforts of other animals.
In the early years of the war horses were, to a large extent, the only form of transport that was available to the British Army, ranging from use by cavalry units, artillery units as well others such as the Army Ordnance Corps for the conveying of ammunition supplies to men fighting at the front. Britain sent an estimated one million horses to fight in the war, most of them to France and Belgium, but only 60,000 of them ever returned home, and only then were they returned because of the intervention of Winston Churchill.
Dogs also played a major role in the war, especially in the trenches on the Western Front. They were used as mascots by the different regiments and in some cases, they were companions for homesick soldiers. They were also used for sentry duties in the trenches as well as catching rats, and they were used as messengers and to sniff out wounded soldiers in No Man's Land.
Besides their immediate handlers who looked after their everyday needs, there was the Royal Army Veterinary Corps to tend to their wounds after they had been injured in the execution of their duties.
Animals in the Great War explores how everyday domestic animals were transformed into remarkable wartime heroes, who more than did their bit for the war effort.
Lucinda Moore’s book Animals in the Great War is a comprehensive pictorial spotlight shining on the many ways a menagerie of animals, great and small, contributed their service and their lives to the cause of World War I.
Journal of Animal Ethics, Volume 10, Number 1, Spring 2020 - reviewed by Linda M. Johnson
A major and most important issue when addressing the study of the Great War.
Miniaturas JM
Read the full Spanish review here
A third book from a husband and wife team looking at another subject of military history meriting much more coverage. The use of animals in war did not end in 1918 but that was the last major war to depend heavily on animals to provide motive power – Very Highly Recommended.
Firetrench
Read the full review here
Fascinating study. 10/10
The Great War magazine, September 2019
Overall, this is a book worth purchasing for anyone with a keen interest in the First World War, but equally as valuable for anyone who is fascinated by the various roles that animals have played in our past.
Jon Sandison, Freelance
The stories are told expertly and with utmost compassion.
Books Monthly
A book that makes us discover the enormous contribution made by innocent beings to that terrible conflict known as the Great War.
Old Barbed Wire Blog
Read the full Italian review here
Incredible photographs from World War One show the animals that served in the war and their efforts assisting troops on the front line.
Mail Online 30/5/19
About Stephen Wynn
Stephen is a retired police officer having served with Essex Police as a constable for thirty years between 1983 and 2013. He is married to Tanya and has two sons, Luke and Ross, and a daughter, Aimee. Both Stephen’s grandfathers served in and survived the First World War, one with the Royal Irish Rifles, the other in the Mercantile Marine, whilst his father was a member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War.
When not writing Stephen can be found walking his dogs with his wife, Tanya, at some unearthly time of the morning when most normal people are still fast asleep.
About Tanya Wynn
Stephen and Tanya Wynn are a husband and wife team. They have been married for twelve years and outside of writing enjoy the simplicities of life. They spend most mornings walking their four German Shepherd dogs at a time when most normal people are still sound asleep.
Animals in the Great War is the third book Stephen and Tanya Wynn have written together, having previously collaborated on Women in the Great War and A History of the Royal Hospital Chelsea 1682-2017. Stephen has written numerous titles in the military history genre over the years. His first book, Two Sons in a Warzone, was published in 2010. It is the true story of his sons first tours in Afghanistan. One of them was injured and the other was shot and wounded.
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