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Frank and many of his Rugby friends played polo all summer and hunted in winter. They were men who knew about horses.
And when they went to war they took their own horses with them:-
Skibbereen - a stunning chestnut was Frank's pride and joy - kept behind the firing lines and shown off to admiring fellow officers at the front, as one might today show off a sports car.
John - Great Baddow, October 1914. "The King came at 11.15 a.m., but we were in position at 9 a.m., and I nearly fell asleep on John, waiting. Fortunately, he stands still for hours on end." letter from Frank West to his wife. Frank's patient, workaday horse,John, was killed with him.
Babington - kept by Leather after Frank died.
Billet Doux - one of the polo ponies. "Billet Doux ran away with Lloyd (Driver David Lloyd, service numbers 424 / 840287) and he let her get into some barbed wire and cut herself." Nov. 1915. Kept by Leather after Frank died.
Melisande - Fowler's horse was wounded by a shell Dec 1915 . 31 Jan 1916. "Quite a sad day today - poor Melisande had to be shot.She was hit by a shell the other day and got better, but the first time she was out she fell and broke her knee and cracked a bone. Then one of the men’s billets got shot, and one man killed and another wounded, so altogether poor Cecil Fowler is rather upset." letter from Frank West to his wife.
Tommy - Sat Jan 1, 1916 "Sailly heavilly shelled in the afternoon and Bassett had a very narrow escape, a 5.9" shell bursting five yards from him. He was riding "Tommy" and the horse was slightly wounded. Nothing serious." War Diary of Reginald Pridmore - unpublished
Tuesday June 13th 1916. "Miserably wet remainder of day. "Tommy" my pony was hit by M.G. bullet whilst grazing in Orchard and had to be shot. Poor little man, I loved him, and I'd had him 20 months." War Diary of Reginald Pridmore - unpublished
Kathleen - Guy Kidd's horse. "I met Guy Kidd on the road yesterday. He is very fat and well and took Kathleen away with him, leaving a much better horse in her place." letter from Frank West to his wife, August 1916.
Archibald - possibly the name of Cecil Nickalls' horse.
Zulu - Reginald Pridmore's black horse. Sat Oct 16, 1915 "The Boche shelled Hebuterne and Sailly heavily in the afternoon and one shell burst in our stables, and wounded three horses, including "Zulu" my black who got many bits of shell in the neck and head; however I think he will soon be all right again." War Diary of Reginald Pridmore - unpublished. On 6 August 1916, Pridmore had a new charger and Zulu was allocated to F.W. Spencer.
Sweetheart - belonged to Pridmore. Fri Sept 8, 1916." In the afternoon we had some sports - Football at 2.00 p.m., then Driving competition. 5 furlong flat race for officers. Won by Major Nickalls. With Mattison second riding my horse Sweetheart. With myself about a neck away third on Pozieres.
War Diary of Reginald Pridmore - unpublished
Pozieres - also Pridmore's and from the name probably the new charger he received 6 August 1916.
Some of these horses were accompanied to war by the grooms who had looked after them at home in Warwickshire.
Three of my grandfather's grooms are known to me by name. He enlisted the two younger, Roseblade and Barlow, in the Brigade.
Barlow,was with Frank when Frank was killed; Barlow was injured by the same shell, and both of their horses were killed.
After Frank died, Skibbereen with his groom Roseblade was transferred to Frank's Commanding Officer, General Ward, who was capable of riding Skibbereen.
Both Roseblade and Skibbereen survived the war.
An Artillery Brigade depended on horses for drawing guns and moving ammunition and supplies. Apart from the officers' own cherished horses, Frank took great interest in the care and welfare of the Brigade horses for which he was responsible.
You can read more about the horses and how they were kept here The Brigade Horses
The photograph on this page from before the war is copyright protected by Warwickshire County Council. The caption is by my grandmother, Frank's widow, who deposited it with other of our family photographs in Rugby Local History Library.
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