大象传媒

In pre-1914 Burton-on-Trent, the main mode of transport was the horse.

At what was the Bass Brewery its thought 300 shires were used to transport beer and do all the heavy lifting of other materials used in the brewing process.

At the outbreak of war the British Army requisitioned many of the horses. No horse under 15HH was used by the military, but the shires being so big were prime targets. Many of the Bass shires were shipped to the front lines in Flanders.

It鈥檚 not known whether any returned, but the horses that did come back were reported unfit for purpose, shell shocked by the battles and experiences they had on the front lines.

The same period saw huge innovations in machinery and transport. Many believe that this, combined with the death of hundreds of thousands of horses on the battlefield, led equestrian transport to become redundant.

Location: Burton-on-Trent, Derbyshire DE14 1NG
Image: Horse valuation day in Burton, courtesy NBC Burton c/o Vanessa Winstone

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