World War Two Cavalry Training – and Jackal Hunting in Palestine

In January I posted this shot from Getty’s archive that claimed to show the British cavalry in action in North Africa in 1940. I knew the last British Army cavalry charge happened in Burma in 1942 and that the Queen’s Own Yorkshire Dragoons fought on horseback in Syria in 1941 but this was a mystery. …

Love Among Warhorses

Napoleon’s Marengo (an Arab, Turcoman or Barb) and the Duke of Wellington’s Copenhagen (a three-quarters thoroughbred) were the most famous chargers of the nineteenth century. Both were named after famous victories of their masters. Both feature in heroic portraits, and both had their hooves repurposed after death – Marengo’s as cruet, Copenhagen’s as an inkstand. …