Brave Bess and the ANZAC Horses
By Susan Brocker
HarperCollins, $19.99
Many books have been written and stories told about the brave New Zealand soldiers who fought and died in World War One. But there is one story that is seldom told. It is the story of their brave horses.
At the outbreak of war in 1914, the New Zealand troops left for the battlefields with more than 3,700 horses. The horses were the first of over 10,000 that New Zealand sent to war between 1914 and 1916, serving mainly with the Mounted Rifles Brigade in the Middle East. They faced heat, stress, thirst, hunger, exhaustion, disease, and ultimately, death. Yet these noble creatures served our troopers with unquestioning courage and loyalty until the very end. Of all the horses that departed at the start of the war, only one ever returned home. Brave Bess and the ANZAC Horses is her story.
Bess returned from war to live out her final days near Bulls and her grave and memorial is only a few kilometres from the township. This humble memorial to Bess is the only recognition of the contribution made by New Zealand horses in the war effort. In recent years on early ANZAC Day mornings, soldiers gather beside the memorial, some on horseback, to honour the life of Bess and the horses of World War One.
Susan Brocker researched extensively the history of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles in the Middle East campaign of World War One. She also read the many diaries, memoirs, and letters of troopers from the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and the Australian Light Horse. Although it was a tragic story to explore, it was also a very poignant and moving one. Recommended reading age 12-onwards
Susan Brocker lives with her husband and many pets, including horses, on a small farm near Tauranga. She has written numerous books for children, including, RESTLESS SPIRIT and the bestselling SAVING SAM.
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