News / Shirehampton
Commemorative World War One war horse statue unveiled
Hundreds of people have attended the unveiling of a statue of a World War One horse.
The statue, made completely from horseshoes, now stands on top of a slope in the Daisy Field near Shirehampton station.
The artwork commemorates the 350,000 horses and the men who all passed through the Shirehampton Remount Depot on their way to the battlefields during World War One.
is needed now More than ever
A statue made completely from horseshoes has been unveiled
The ceremony on Saturday morning began with the horse dramatically concealed under a sheet and guarded by the local Sea Cadets.
The statue was unveiled by lord-lieutenant Peaches Golding and Darren Jones MP, with assistance from Pete Insole and master of ceremonies, John Hastings.
Peaches Golding came to the rescue when the sheet became caught on the horse’s ears, using the royal sword to push it free.
The statue commemorates the 350,000 horses and the men who all passed through the Shirehampton Remount Depot
Pete Insole, principal historic environment officer for Bristol City Council, told the crowd that the horse now stands in an area which would have been paddocks within the depot, with forage barns and shoeing sheds nearby.
Nowadays there is no trace of the depot apart from the shoes of horses and mules that people find in their gardens.
“This statue will help to broaden the awareness of the heritage of this site,” he told Bristol24/7.
Lord-lieutenant Peaches Golding used her sword to help unveil the statue
Speaking at the event, Darren Jones, who was brought up in Shirehampton, said he was unaware of the area’s historic importance.
“I had no idea when I grew up in Groveleaze that I was slap bang in the middle of all this,” he said.
The horse was blessed by Rev Alison Sowton from St Mary’s Shirehampton and then Paul McMillan sung Only Remembered from the musical War Horse.
Paul McMillian sang ‘Only Remembered’ following the unveiling
The event was particularly important for Amanda Sylvester who lives in Shirehampton. While researching her family history she found she has an ancestor who was a groom at Remount, first cousin twice removed, George Langraves.
“He could have been on this very spot, this is very special to us,” she said.
The statue was initially the idea of local Diane Gait who keeps her horses nearby. The artist is her farrier Jason Baggs, who made it with fellow farrier Philip Smith over three years ago.
Jason describes his first glimpse of the horse in situ as “breathtaking,” but it’s also a weight off his shoulders to have it finally in place.
The statue is on top of a slope in the Daisy Field near Shirehampton station
The horse is a short walk away from Shirehampton railway station and will be visible from the Portway, the Severn Beach railway and from the Avon.
Shirehampton was one of five Remount Depots around the country. Horses would stay in the depot for two weeks, to check that they were fit and healthy and to be trained for their duties on the frontlines. Most of them never returned.
At that time horses or mules were the main method of transporting military supplies, munitions and people.
Within the first few weeks of conflict in 1914, the British Army requisitioned about 120,000 horses from families and farms across the UK. Anyone who could not prove that their horses were essential had to surrender them.
Mary Milton is reporting on Sea Mills as part of Bristol24/7’s community reporter scheme, a project which aims to tell stories from areas of Bristol traditionally under-served by the mainstream media
All photos: Mary Milton
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