They Had No Choice

Last week saw the running of the Grand National. The 4 mile steeplechase is ( supposedly) one of the most exciting sporting events on the calendar. But times are a changing. For exciting, we could substitute 'cruel'. The national has always struggled between being the biggest gambling race of the entire year ( almost every office has a sweepstake)  and is therefore worth millions to somebody,  and the animal rights lobby who do not see horses being killed as a cash cow. In 1839, when it started, things were very different.

Now, horses die. Every year, they die. The organisers have tried to make the race safer, by doing that, they simply made it faster and that made it more dangerous.

This year a photographer caught one of ‘those’ moments. That image will stay on the back of the eyelids of anybody who sees it. Once seen, never forgotten. The mare ‘Up For Review’ died at the first fence.  There’s a still picture of her, upside down in mid air, front legs stretched below her, back legs pointing to the sky, caught for eternity.  She's about to land on her neck.  Her death was also caught on TV,  she was writhing in agony.

You can find it on the net if you wish.

Her death seems to have hit home this time as  it was in everybody’s living room and on the front of every paper so she wasn't to be ignored.

And it highlights the issue. She was young and fit, as an athlete  she was up for the gruelling four miles and 30 fences but was clipped by another horse on take off.

Last week I was in London, here are some of the animals I saw.

A very bad photograph of one of the parakeets in Kensington Park.

The most photographed house in London, right on the Serpentine.

The sculpture at the Serpentine.

Mr Jack Russell,  on his seat, waiting for a cake!

Serpentine swan, in black and white.

Heron??

Do these ducks have enough legs?

This squirrel refused to stay still..

As  did this collie

He joined his pals, one spaniel had a bright red coat on.

A horse of war.. ( probably not his war)

Two phrases were rolling through my mind; What would we be without them, our furry and feathered friends?

.

And ‘They had no choice.’

                                  

                                   

The Animals In War Memorial was designed by David Backhouse, in memory of the animals that have served and died under British military command throughout history. 

                                      

The stone carved mural depicts  horses, mules, elephants, pigeons, dogs and a lone cat, a ghostly intriguing little figure that brings to mind  all those ship’s cats  like Chippy on Shackleton’s Endurance.

The memorial was unveiled on 24 December 2004 by the Princess Royal after the book 'Animals in War' by Jilly Cooper  was published and that book led to a fund  that eventually led to the memorial.

                                     

It sits on the side of Hyde Park, on Park Lane, right up at Marble Arch, the grass of the park on one side, an Aston Martin showroom on the other.

                                          
                                                      the dog has so many admirers the grass round him never grows.

The Website says “ This monument is a tribute honouring all creatures from the large, such as mules which were silenced in the Burmese jungle in World War 2 by having their vocal cords cut, to the small, like glow worms that were used by soldiers as a source of light to read maps in World War 1.”

The 58ft curved stone wall carries the engravings of a procession of the animals.

                                    

                                                    The wee cat

The short sections feature inscriptions on both sides; the numbers of animals lost. It’s horrific. Millions. 

                                        

"This monument is dedicated to all the animals

that served and died alongside British and allied forces

in wars and campaigns throughout time."

                                      

On the lower level, two bronze mules are hauling their load through the gap in the wall,

                                        

The upper level has a bronze horse and dog. The horse was modelled on a retired army horse called Ben Bragg.

                                         

                                               

It’s heart breaking. Everybody walks through the gap in the wall,  stroking the horse, patting the dog on its head,  then down the step towards the mules that get  similar treatment. In the 15 years the memorial has been there,  the bronze is wearing thin with  the human touch.

                                

"Many and various animals were employed to support British and Allied Forces in wars and campaigns over the centuries, and as a result millions died. From the pigeon to the elephant, they all played a vital role in every region of the world in the cause of human freedom.

Their contribution must never be forgotten."

                                      

The second, shorter but larger in font, inscription simply reads:

"They had no choice."

Caro Ramsay