# Animals In War Memorial



## Rifleman62 (12 Aug 2009)

The Animals At War Memorial

http://www.animalsinwar.org.uk/index.cfm?asset_id=1373

This monument is a powerful and moving tribute to all the animals that served, suffered and died alongside the British, Commonwealth and Allied forces in the wars and conflicts of the 20th century.

The British, Commonwealth and Allied forces enlisted many millions of animals to serve and often die alongside their armies. These animals were chosen for a variety of their natural instincts and vast numbers were killed, often suffering agonising deaths from wounds, starvation, thirst, exhaustion, disease and exposure.

The trustees of The Animals in War Memorial Fund obtained planning consent from Westminster City Council to erect the memorial at Brook Gate, Park Lane,  on the edge of Hyde Park. It was unveiled by HRH The Princess Royal in November 2004, the 90th anniversary of the start of World War I.

The £2 million needed to build the monument on such a superb Central London site came from a national appeal and the generosity of many individual donors, charities and companies, with substantial support from the Estate of the late Paul Mellon in the USA, The Duke of Westminster KG OBE TD DL, and lead contractors, Sir Robert McAlpine. Other major gifts were generously given by The Rt Hon the Earl of Cadogan, DL, Rt Hon The Lord Ballyedmond OBE and John Spurling Esq., OBE.

The Symbolism of the Design

There are three principal elements in the design; two different levels and a dominating and powerful wall between them. 

On the lower level, two heavily laden bronze mules struggle through an arena, enclosed by the dominant wall symbolising the war experience. The mules approach a flight of steps that leads through the wall. Beyond the wall, on the upper level, a bronze horse and dog stand facing north into the gardens, bearing witness to the loss of their comrades and representing hope for the future. 

The Wall

Images of the many different animals used in 20th century conflicts are depicted in bas-relief on the inside of the longer section of wall. On the outside of this wall a line of ghostly silhouettes is carved, representing the animals lost in the conflicts.

Inscriptions

There are inscriptions on both sides of the shorter section of wall, including the name of the monument and information about theatres of war and the numbers of animals lost. 
The names of major donors are carved on the outside of the longer section of wall.


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## PMedMoe (13 Aug 2009)

Beautiful!  Interesting, reading the history.  (Of the animals in war, not the monument).


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## Feldgendarme (13 Aug 2009)

Great topic, thanks for sharing.  I did a presentation on Animals at War for the local school and it really opened some eyes.  I recently visited the US Naval Base at San Diego and watched the Navy train dolphins to plant and detect underwater munitions. It was explained to me that the success rate is 100%.


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## helpup (13 Aug 2009)

Nice article, however I am waiting for PETA to take a swipe at this somehow, way shape or form.


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## Old Sweat (13 Aug 2009)

The conditons for animals in the pre-motorized days were pretty gruesome. The British army went through over 330,000 horse in the 30 months of the Boer War, and this figure does not include the animals used by the para-military South African Constabulary. The Boers also would have had considerable losses in horse, mules and oxen.

This figure probably is insignificant compared to the animal casualties in the First World War. I don't think I even want to try to estimate the losses on all sides; it must have been well into the many millions. One point - after gas masks came into general use by the troops, much of the targeting shifted to selected rear areas in an attempt to gas the large number of horses and mules used to move guns and provide logistics support. It certainly was Canadian practice to do so.


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## Shec (13 Aug 2009)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> Beautiful!  Interesting, reading the history.  (Of the animals in war, not the monument).



Indeed it is an interesting story and the monument is a fitting memorial.

Here's a piece on perhaps the most visible animals in WW1:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/forgottenarmy.htm


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## mariomike (13 Aug 2009)

"I believe that every soldier who has anything to do with horse or mule has come to love them for what they are and the grand work they have done and are doing in and out of the death zones." 
Captain Sidney Galtrey, autumn 1918
It's a beautiful monument.
Readers may recall the Metro Police horse "Brigadier" who was struck by a hit and run driver  ( later arrested ) in Scarborough. The horse was "euthanized by officers at the scene."
http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2136


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