0:00:04 > 0:00:09WWI is often thought of as the first truly mechanised war.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14A deadly conflict of machine guns and barbed wire.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16Of tanks and trenches.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22For four years, Europe was locked in tactical stalemate.
0:00:24 > 0:00:27But it was also the war of the horse.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29From the cavalry and artillery
0:00:29 > 0:00:31to the humble packhorse.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Without the horse, the outcome of the war
0:00:34 > 0:00:35could have been very different.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38And for the first time,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42the British Army turned to mules in vast numbers.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45They're a much more robust animal
0:00:45 > 0:00:48to deal with on a day-to-day basis in the conditions of the Western Front.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Getting these animals to the front line was a mammoth operation.
0:00:53 > 0:00:58Pushing the British Military Remount Service to the limit.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02The Remount Department managed the largest horse-purchasing
0:01:02 > 0:01:05industry the world has even seen.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10By the end of the war, 1918, almost a million horses
0:01:10 > 0:01:12and mules were serving the British Army.
0:01:24 > 0:01:25On the west coast of England,
0:01:25 > 0:01:27where Bristol meets the Severn Estuary,
0:01:27 > 0:01:32we're searching for traces of the county's largest Army Remount Depot
0:01:32 > 0:01:34at Shirehampton.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39No-one's seen it for almost 100 years.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43If stories are to be believed,
0:01:43 > 0:01:45it would have been teeming with thousands of horses
0:01:45 > 0:01:48and mules preparing to go to war.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52Peter Insole, an archaeologist with the local council,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55is overseeing a geophysical survey of the area.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00So, Peter, this place seems a bit of an enigma to me
0:02:00 > 0:02:02in the sense that there's nothing here.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04How do we know actually what went on?
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Well, we knew there was a Remount Depot in this region,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10but it was just by chance, I was working on another project
0:02:10 > 0:02:13and I happened to find a map that shows exactly
0:02:13 > 0:02:16where all the buildings and paddocks of the Remount Depot
0:02:16 > 0:02:19were actually situated in this area.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21And so what we're trying to do today
0:02:21 > 0:02:24is see if there's any remains of these buildings
0:02:24 > 0:02:28actually beneath the ground, using this geophysics technique.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31What we can see from Peter's map
0:02:31 > 0:02:35is that the Remount Depot was really quite extensive.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39With 64 stable blocks, 35 paddocks.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Some holding over 100 horses.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45There were forage barns, shoeing sheds,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49separate quarters for officers and soldiers.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51And even a pharmacy.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52This was a huge area.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55It just seems from the size of these
0:02:55 > 0:02:57and the actual total amount of area it covered...
0:02:57 > 0:02:59It was a pretty significant location.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03This was a Remount Depot for 5,000 horses.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05And from 5,000 horses, it got extended.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09At its peak, it held 7,500 horses at any one time.
0:03:13 > 0:03:17For thousands of years, horses played a vital role in war,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19as they did in everyday life.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24But in the years leading up to WWI,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27the horse was starting to make way for machines.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32At the beginning of the war, August 1914,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34the British Army was probably the most mechanised army
0:03:34 > 0:03:38of all the countries to fight in that war.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40And the bulk of our horse transport
0:03:40 > 0:03:45had, in fact, been taken over by motor vehicles.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48But with the advent of war and the expansion,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52the motor vehicle industry couldn't keep up with production.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54So they went back to horse transport.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01At the time, the Army had just 25,000 horses.
0:04:01 > 0:04:05But six times that number were available in reserve
0:04:05 > 0:04:07on farms and stables across the country.
0:04:08 > 0:04:11And more could be commandeered at any moment
0:04:11 > 0:04:14by the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19His impressment of horses, as it was known,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22became a national talking point.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Particularly among the owners of smaller horses.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Lord Kitchener had been sent a letter by a couple girls
0:04:28 > 0:04:31that their ponies would be taken for the war effort,
0:04:31 > 0:04:33asking that this would not happen.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37And he replied back to say he had ordered no horses
0:04:37 > 0:04:40under 15 hands would be taken for the war.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43I tend to think that's a little bit of propaganda.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Because the size of an Army horse is prescribed.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51And the minimum is probably 15.1, 15.15 hands.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Horse musters were organised across the country,
0:04:55 > 0:05:00where anyone handing over the right animal was handsomely rewarded.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04But still more were needed. Hundreds of thousands more.
0:05:04 > 0:05:10So they looked to America, with its endless supply of wild horses.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14A commission was dispatched to find them and send them back to Bristol.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21So, why was the location here?
0:05:21 > 0:05:23Because the war was going on on the Western Front.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26It's a fair way away. What's the reason for being here?
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Avonmouth is one of the first ports you come to as you cross the Atlantic.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33And you can ship them straight in to the country here.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37And King Edward Dock had just been built, just before WWI.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40Now, that means it's a modern facility.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44And it's got all the rail links and also, when Lord Kitchener
0:05:44 > 0:05:46comes here in August, he sees that you've got all this
0:05:46 > 0:05:51farmland that you can use for paddocking the horses.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55And it's just an ideal place to set up a Remount Depot here.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Soon, animals were arriving from America by the shipload.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03A thousand a week.
0:06:05 > 0:06:08At Shirehampton, they would convalesce after their journey.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10Sick animals would be treated.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15And unbroken animals, of which there were many,
0:06:15 > 0:06:19would be prepared for the regimented discipline of the British Army.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24A War Office newsreel attempted to show the lighter side.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37The reality wasn't nearly as much fun.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41Young soldiers, many recruited from local farms,
0:06:41 > 0:06:43shivered through the winter months.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Bedding down on narrow straw mattresses,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49packed into corrugated-iron barrack huts.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Young men like Charlie Day.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58So, Roger, how did your Great Uncle Charlie come to be at Shirehampton?
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Well, he came from the Wiltshire village of Ramsbury.
0:07:02 > 0:07:04He had two brothers and three sisters.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07And I think one of his brothers had joined the Army
0:07:07 > 0:07:10and he wanted to join the Army as well,
0:07:10 > 0:07:13but he'd hurt his leg in a wagon accident as a young man.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15That meant he wasn't really fit enough to be a soldier.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18At least not in 1914.
0:07:18 > 0:07:22But by 1916, of course, the British Army was getting desperate
0:07:22 > 0:07:24and he was now a soldier.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27We don't know exactly when he arrived at Shirehampton,
0:07:27 > 0:07:29but we know that in August of 1916,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31he sent a postcard saying he was on his way here.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34I'm assuming that given that Charlie was brought up on a farm,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37he cared about the conditions of the animals when they arrived here.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Oh, yes. Like all farmers, he was always concerned
0:07:40 > 0:07:42about the condition of the animals.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44And I think he was rather distressed about the condition of some
0:07:44 > 0:07:47of the horses and mules when they arrived at Shirehampton.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51In one of these letters, he says, "They are packed in very tightly.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53"There's not room for them to lie down.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56"For if one got down, it would mean no chance of it getting up again.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00"Some of our mules have gone and some more are going tomorrow.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03"And then we have 50 to come from the sick lines.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06"They have such dirty noses and blow them all over you,
0:08:06 > 0:08:07"even into your face."
0:08:07 > 0:08:09LAUGHTER
0:08:09 > 0:08:11So he's sort of implying that he thinks
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- he might actually catch something off the horses.- Yep.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17And he writes to his mother in another letter
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and asks for a bar of Mr Strickland's disinfectant soap
0:08:20 > 0:08:22because he thinks if he washes with it,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25it'll prevent him from catching any diseases.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29Despite Charlie's concerns,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33the treatment of horses by the military had actually improved.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Ten years earlier, after the second Anglo-Boer War,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41in which more than 300,000 horses died,
0:08:41 > 0:08:45the Army had been forced to change its approach.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47They had learnt it was important
0:08:47 > 0:08:49that you actually have to take care of your horses.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Medical care, having the right type of horse to do the job
0:08:53 > 0:08:55and to transport them correctly.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59So when they entered the war, the Army Remount Department
0:08:59 > 0:09:03and those working with horses were really very professional
0:09:03 > 0:09:04and very skilled.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07After three weeks at Shirehampton,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10most horses were fit and healthy
0:09:10 > 0:09:13and ready to take a saddle or a harness.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16For many, a future of mud and toil now lay ahead.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22But not for all horses.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26This was still the age of the cavalry.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28And so larger animals, particularly
0:09:28 > 0:09:30those with a bit of thoroughbred in their blood,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34were sent for training in the traditional art of mounted attack.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40Aye!
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Yargh!
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I'm taking a ride with Jerry Watkins,
0:09:56 > 0:10:00a former captain in the Army Veterinary Corps,
0:10:00 > 0:10:01which is still responsible
0:10:01 > 0:10:04for the care and training of military animals today.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08When people think of WWI, they think of the trench lines.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12It doesn't look like an obvious battlefield for cavalry.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15How were they effective during WWI?
0:10:15 > 0:10:18You must remember the whole trench warfare phenomena
0:10:18 > 0:10:20came later on in the war.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23And in the early years, there were certainly many incidences
0:10:23 > 0:10:26where the sword was drawn and used in battle.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29Very often, cavalrymen versus cavalrymen.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32They still thought that for close-quarter work,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36the thrusting sword, the cutting sword, would be of use.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39And that really is why we saw the training with the sword
0:10:39 > 0:10:43carrying on through the WWI years and well beyond that, as well.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45The use of the horse changed enormously.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47And that was primarily for two reasons.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48One was barbed wire.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51Horses are great at jumping fences and walls and so on,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54but they're not very good at coils of barbed wire.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57There was a huge amount of injury caused to horses through wire.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58The other thing was the machine gun.
0:10:58 > 0:11:02A troop of cavalry in the sights of a German machine gun would be
0:11:02 > 0:11:04absolutely devastating.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Cavalry charges led to the deaths of many hundreds of horses
0:11:12 > 0:11:14and their riders.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19The Army had to learn from these mistakes...and change.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25The cavalry quickly got rid of their lances and swords,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28which had been so important to them in previous battles.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31It was the carbine that become the important weapon
0:11:31 > 0:11:32of the mounted soldier.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36So in effect, you've got a soldier
0:11:36 > 0:11:38who can get off and use his carbine on the ground,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41but he's got the horse for mobility. That sounds clever, actually.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44It is clever. And that's important, that point you made.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46You don't fire your rifle off the horse.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52So you would dismount very quickly, hand your horse to a horse holder
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and then get forward, where you can engage the enemy,
0:11:55 > 0:11:56fire off rounds as quick as you can.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02This is quite a skill, isn't it?
0:12:02 > 0:12:06What sort of training do they have to undergo to get to that level of ability?
0:12:06 > 0:12:08The horses need to be steady to gunfire.
0:12:08 > 0:12:09You're going to skirmish forward,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12but you're still really fairly close to where the horses may be,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14so it needs to be steady to the bang.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17And remember, there's going to be a lot of banging going on.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19The cavalry in the old days did a lot of drill work.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22So they'd be looking splendid on the plains of Aldershot.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25This changed. This was rather like the Commandos.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27They would use the ground
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and they would be able creep forward quietly, yet at speed.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Do their business and get out of there sharpish.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41If the finest riding horses went to the cavalry,
0:12:41 > 0:12:45then the finest cavalry horses went to cavalry officers.
0:12:48 > 0:12:49To ensure an adequate supply,
0:12:49 > 0:12:53the Government began work establishing its own stud
0:12:53 > 0:12:56at Russley Park in Wiltshire.
0:12:56 > 0:12:58To breed chargers for the top brass.
0:13:02 > 0:13:07I'm getting a tour of the stables from horse writer, Susanna Forrest.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10So, Susanna, what was happening here during WWI?
0:13:10 > 0:13:14Well, it was sold to the War Office with the idea that they would
0:13:14 > 0:13:16breed cavalry horses here,
0:13:16 > 0:13:18maybe from the thoroughbreds that had been here before.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22But in the end, there wasn't enough time to quite get this up to speed
0:13:22 > 0:13:24and what they were doing was, we think,
0:13:24 > 0:13:29somewhere between rehabbing and training horses for the cavalry.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32The stables have recently been
0:13:32 > 0:13:35lovingly restored to their original splendour.
0:13:35 > 0:13:39It's pretty roomy, this stable. Would it have just held one horse?
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Yeah. It was originally built for racehorse stallions
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and then during the war, we think it was the officers' horses.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49There's this beautiful porcelain bowl for fodder that could have been
0:13:49 > 0:13:53cleaned out every day to keep the risk of disease or problems very low.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57It's light, it's airy, the bed's been beautifully made properly,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00as it would've been at the time.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03The very top grade of horses had all this living space.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07So, who were the people running the place here?
0:14:07 > 0:14:10I've heard that the lady in charge was a bit of an eccentric.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13It was unusual in that it was entirely run by women.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16And the superintendent was Lady Mabel Birkbeck,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20who was married to the Director of Remount for the Army.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22In a way, a bit of a showpiece.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25It was locked into the highest echelons of the Army
0:14:25 > 0:14:31and upper class and upper middle class young girls working here.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34These were genteel girls.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39Debutants more accustomed to society balls and fine dining.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43The public struggled to accept the idea of them grooming horses
0:14:43 > 0:14:45and mucking out stables.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49And what's more, they were doing it dressed as men.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53A lot of the publicity and at rallies, you'd get speakers saying,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56"We know you're dressing like a man and doing the work of a man,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58"but you must be women.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02"You must be pure and steady-minded and attractive."
0:15:02 > 0:15:05But there was this sort of anxiety about all these women
0:15:05 > 0:15:08running around the countryside in trousers.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Even their style of riding,
0:15:11 > 0:15:17sitting astride rather than side-saddle, attracted notoriety.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19But times were a-changing.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23Right up to the beginning of WWI,
0:15:23 > 0:15:27we have the Queen trying to ban women riding astride in Hyde Park,
0:15:27 > 0:15:33we have the King insisting that at Olympia, the big society horse show,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36women did not appear astride in the main arena.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41In a way, what WWI and Remount Depots did was to give respectability
0:15:41 > 0:15:45and even a sort of patriotic finish to riding astride
0:15:45 > 0:15:46instead of side-saddle.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48- So, did this attract a lot of press attention?- Certainly.
0:15:48 > 0:15:51And they got a lot of propaganda value out of this.
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And people talked about this divineness of spirit
0:15:54 > 0:15:56that comes from this labour
0:15:56 > 0:15:58and that they were freeing up men to go to the front.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59This is the overall message.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06By the end of its first year, the Remount Service had mobilised
0:16:06 > 0:16:08more than half a million animals.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13But on the Western Front, the Army was finding itself
0:16:13 > 0:16:16desperately short of the right kind of horse.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21The big shortage was in light draft horses.
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Predominantly, that's the type of horse
0:16:24 > 0:16:26that the Horse Artillery used.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29And as the war developed and the requirement for horses expanded,
0:16:29 > 0:16:32they started then to use mules.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37With little experience of these curious donkey/horse hybrids,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42the Army up to now had only employed them in small numbers.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Indeed, the old adage, "stubborn as a mule,"
0:16:45 > 0:16:49didn't sit comfortably with the straight-backed British Army.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57Andy Smerdon, a member of the Great War Society,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59owns both a horse and a mule.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Well, this is Mack on my left here.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05He's a Tennessee walking horse.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09Very typical of the horses coming in from North America and Canada.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11The animal on my right is Meg.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13She's a typical military mule.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17A donkey is the father and the mother is a horse. 15 hands upwards.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19You can get them a lot bigger.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22The basic differences between the two of them,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25apart from personalities, ears. The big ears is a giveaway.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27That's from the donkey father.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Mealy muzzle on the front here. Smaller nostrils.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33They don't need so much oxygen in their bodies as a horse does.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35They can actually close these up, to a certain extent.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Very strong, straight back.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Straight legs, hard feet and on the back end,
0:17:40 > 0:17:43there's a pin-on tail, just like the donkey.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46She would've been used for carrying supplies
0:17:46 > 0:17:49up to the front and also in draft.
0:17:49 > 0:17:51The differences temperament-wise,
0:17:51 > 0:17:55I always like to say, a horse is a dog...
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Will you stop that?
0:17:58 > 0:18:00..and a mule is a cat.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03That's the reason why, unfortunately,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06mules have got this bad reputation about being stubborn.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10They're not stubborn, they're just independently minded.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13They have their own mind and they know what they're doing.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15Nevertheless, the Army did struggle
0:18:15 > 0:18:18with the temperament of their American imports.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Treating them like horses didn't seem to be working.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26They had thousands of horses and mules to train.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29It was just get on, ride until it gave up
0:18:29 > 0:18:31and you broke it, literally, breaking a horse.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33And then you went on to the next one.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36You didn't have the time to be kind and gentle.
0:18:36 > 0:18:39A mule will respect that kind and gentleness,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41but more so than a horse.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Once the British Army learnt that,
0:18:44 > 0:18:47then, in fact, no, we didn't have huge problems with mules.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Most people you speak to and most of the accounts you read,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55people will tell you mules were a very efficient and largely docile,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58very useful, hardy animal.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01It turned out that they were cheaper to run,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05they could go further on less food and they were more robust.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09But there was a catch.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13The trouble with a mule is it can kick in any direction.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Whereas a horse can only kick backwards,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18a mule has 360 degrees of aim.
0:19:18 > 0:19:22They actually can kick forward and they can kick sideways,
0:19:22 > 0:19:24what they call a cow kick.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26There's a famous story of a cavalry general
0:19:26 > 0:19:29walking down the horse lines at a Remount Depot,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31taking in the animals that were there
0:19:31 > 0:19:34and one of the more infamous animals double-barrelled him,
0:19:34 > 0:19:37much to the enjoyment of the soldiers watching
0:19:37 > 0:19:40because he wasn't a particularly popular general.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44You've always got to watch them. That's the trouble with mules.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Having now accepted that mules were the answer,
0:19:50 > 0:19:54the Army faced a problem getting them into the country.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56The main Remount Depots at Shirehampton
0:19:56 > 0:19:58and Liverpool were full to capacity.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02And German U-boats were preventing ships
0:20:02 > 0:20:05from reaching the only other depot at Southampton.
0:20:09 > 0:20:13So they decided to ship into Bristol and into Shirehampton
0:20:13 > 0:20:16and then move them down into the West Country
0:20:16 > 0:20:21to well-watered, warmer climates and simply run them on farms.
0:20:23 > 0:20:2712 farms were chosen. All close to stations
0:20:27 > 0:20:30along Brunel's Great Western Railway.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42From the spring of 1915, more than 100,000 mules were transported
0:20:42 > 0:20:45in railway horse boxes requisitioned by the Army
0:20:45 > 0:20:47and converted for the purpose.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55In a train yard at Bishops Lydeard Station,
0:20:55 > 0:20:56a project is under way to refurbish
0:20:57 > 0:21:00the country's only surviving example.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04Obviously a fair bit of work to be done.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06What sort of condition was it in when you got it
0:21:06 > 0:21:08and how did you get hold of it?
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Well, it was in remarkable condition, really.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13It was actually in a farmer's field in Pershore.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16It had chickens underneath and a diesel tank on the roof
0:21:16 > 0:21:20and I think for 116 years old, it's survived remarkably well.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23So, can you tell me how everything works on this?
0:21:23 > 0:21:26This ramp would've actually dropped down on the platform.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29There's two. One either side of the vehicle.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31So you could load or unload from either side.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33They'd have probably taken out the centre partition
0:21:33 > 0:21:36because originally, this was for two horses and a groom.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38It's quite roomy, isn't it?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41I know you say originally just two horses, how many mules could they have got in here?
0:21:41 > 0:21:44Well, I would've thought anything up to half a dozen mules.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Because you would've taken out the centre partition
0:21:46 > 0:21:48and just cram as many in as you possibly can.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51- This is wartime. It's needs must. - Needs must. Exactly!
0:21:56 > 0:22:00One of the 12 Somerset mule depots was just outside the popular
0:22:00 > 0:22:02seaside resort of Minehead.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07Here, the mules were herded down the town's main avenue
0:22:07 > 0:22:12and out into the countryside, to the farm at Bratton Court.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Can you tell me a bit about what this place was used for during WWI?
0:22:18 > 0:22:20In the spring of 1915,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23the whole of Bratton Farm, which is 600 acres,
0:22:23 > 0:22:27was taken over by the Army for rest and recuperation for mules
0:22:27 > 0:22:31that had been brought over from the States and from South America.
0:22:31 > 0:22:33A long journey by sea.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36And for training before they were sent on to France.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38So, how many mules are we talking about?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Well, we reckon 500 mules at any given time.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43We're not sure how long they would've stayed.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Could've been as little as three weeks,
0:22:45 > 0:22:47but if they were having to break them in,
0:22:47 > 0:22:50as I think a lot of them were not trained in any way,
0:22:50 > 0:22:53I think it would've taken longer than three weeks.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Rita, what traces are left on the farm of that time?
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Can we still see some of the history of that period?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Yes. This is what we gradually discovered.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Because we didn't know there had been mules at Bratton,
0:23:03 > 0:23:06but mule shoes have been found and we've still got a couple.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09- They're a particular size, obviously, aren't they?- They are.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11They're a very different shape, funnily enough.
0:23:11 > 0:23:12They are much longer and slimmer.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16In those days, of course, having taken over the entire farm over,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20they would also have been using the forge to shoe the mules.
0:23:20 > 0:23:24But the idea of making and fitting a couple of thousand mule shoes
0:23:24 > 0:23:29every three weeks sounds like an impossible job.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Maybe not all of them would have gone out shod,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34but a lot of them would have been shod before they left.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Because you wouldn't want to start having to shoe them
0:23:36 > 0:23:38as soon as they arrived in France, that's for sure!
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Even keeping the animals fed was a mammoth task.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48An advert placed in the local newspaper invited tenders
0:23:48 > 0:23:52to supply hay to Bratton. Six tonnes a day.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58A condition states, "Any trusses found to be musty, mouldy,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02"badly mow burnt or wilfully damped may be rejected."
0:24:04 > 0:24:07And to make sure the Army wasn't being sold short,
0:24:07 > 0:24:09a weighbridge was installed in the farmyard,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12which still works perfectly today.
0:24:14 > 0:24:16So to have your farm taken over during WWI,
0:24:16 > 0:24:19of course, that's all part of the war effort,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21but was there any recompense for the farmer?
0:24:21 > 0:24:22The Army were very good at recompensing
0:24:22 > 0:24:24everybody for everything, funnily enough.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And we reckoned that for the use of the buildings,
0:24:27 > 0:24:29for preparing feed, that kind of thing,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32although all the labour was provided by the Army,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34they would probably have paid 30 shillings a week.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40In today's money, that would be around £140,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42which doesn't sound like much.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46But the landowner was also paid 2/6 per mule.
0:24:46 > 0:24:51Nowadays, that would add up to a very respectable £5,500 a week.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55Clearly, looking after the Army's mules could be a lucrative business.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03From Bratton Court, the mules were put back onto trains
0:25:03 > 0:25:06for their journey to the front line.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08From where a great many would never return.
0:25:12 > 0:25:18Over the course of WWI, 484,000 British horses and mules died.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21One for every two men.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31Stories of animals collapsed with exhaustion, caked in mud,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34too tired to lift their heads to breathe,
0:25:34 > 0:25:36seem all too plausible.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42When the war ended in 1918, the Army Remount Service
0:25:42 > 0:25:47had to begin the enormous task of unpicking all their work.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Unlike the men with whom they served,
0:25:49 > 0:25:53900,000 horses couldn't just go home.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59At the end of the war, any horses or mules the Army didn't require
0:25:59 > 0:26:02in its peacetime role were simply sold off
0:26:02 > 0:26:04in the domestic markets.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08However, any horse that was not fit for work, generally speaking,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12they were slaughtered either for domestic consumption, or, in fact,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16for consumption for POWs, both in this country and on the Continent.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19So there's a mixed picture.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25At Shirehampton, the end of war meant the end of the Remount Depot.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29A few stables and quarters were kept as temporary housing,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32but within a few years, they were gone, too.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41So, nearly a century later,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45have we found any physical evidence of what went on here?
0:26:45 > 0:26:50Two things that first strike me are the anomalies that we have here.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52It's that angle between those two.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56The relationship between those two areas of high resistance
0:26:56 > 0:27:00which does match what we can see on the plan here.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03The other thing I've just noticed is there might be
0:27:03 > 0:27:05small paths in between the stable blocks.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09It's a fair indication that these are the remains
0:27:09 > 0:27:13of this element of the Remount Depot within this paddock.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- So good news, good results. - I think so.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18I'm really pleased we've actually been able to detect
0:27:18 > 0:27:22some elements of what looked like the Remount Depot in this field.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25We never know what we're going to be able to find
0:27:25 > 0:27:27when we do these sorts of surveys.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30An alignment that could be that stable block and the path
0:27:30 > 0:27:35that we see on the actual plan, I think is a great result.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Although the Remount Depot's gone,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41we've proved that remains of it still lie underneath the ground.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48WWI saw horses and mules mobilised in numbers never seen before.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52But the end of the war marked a turning point in their future.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57Before long, most cavalry regiments had been mechanised.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01And though this would not be the last time horses went to war,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05never again would they have such a significant role in the outcome.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10100 years on from the Great War,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13there's very little trace of what went on here.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15The wounds have healed over.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18But dig a little deeper, as we have done,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21and there is evidence of the extraordinary effort,
0:28:21 > 0:28:24the hardship and the determination.
0:28:24 > 0:28:25Life may have moved on,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29but the memories are still right here, beneath our feet.