Horses at War

Remembering World War I and World War II at the Weald and Downland Museum.

What a fab day! Five of us from the meetup group went down to photograph the event I of course forgot I'd arranged a Saturday and had a phone call asking where I was... err not in bed but close! It took me about an hour and a half to get ready, feed animals, and join them. I found them sitting in a tent drinking tea and listening to a three man band performing tunes from the 1st and 2nd World Wars.

There wasn't a re-enactment battle but they had all the horses, mules and donkeys, demonstrating how vitally important their roles were during the war. Some of the horses were hired from a film company in Windsor. They were trained to perform well and ridden with superb skill. One or two may not have had issues with their performance but were spooked by the throng of onlookers. This horse was dancing around uncomfortably and eventually had to be removed from the arena. His nerves gave me some good photos!

Of course there were the camps full of men and women in uniforms living their weekend as if it were yesteryear. I was impressed that one group were very careful that nothing modern should be included in their photographs but dismayed at others that held iPhones up to be seen in every picture. It certainly wasn't easy to get shots without 2014 in the images.

We saw most of the displays but decided to take advantage of most people watching the show to go round the cottages and other rural displays that are on site. We had a whacky time posing for shots through windows, heads peering out of the 13th century drop boxes, heads in ovens and recreating the last supper with the staff on site! Only a photographic group would do it, they said. It was such fun.

I'm almost tempted to go back today. The dogs need a good walk, the garden calls for attention so, I'll have to give it a miss.