The Yorkshire World War I veteran who inspired the War Horse Memorial, our only dedicated memorial to horses, donkeys and mules who served in the conflict

The War Horse Memorial is the only dedicated memorial to the equines who served during the First World War and Alan Carr, co-founder of the charity behind it, said his biggest inspiration was his Yorkshire grandfather.

“My grandfather lived in Market Weighton and I used to spend long summers with him on the farm.

“He signed up in 1914 and was on a gun carriage which would have been pulled by horses. He fought the whole war and I can’t imagine what he went through.

“He never spoke about his experiences but he was my biggest inspiration for the memorial.”

‘Poppy’, named by the Girl Guides was unveiled in June 2018 to mark the centenary of the First World War.

As part of the legacy, the Purple Poppy Appeal was launched in July the same year with one million biodegradable purple poppy petals floating down from the sky over Windsor Castle.

The 2020 appeal launched this week with an online concert and raises money for War Horse Memorial’s chosen equine and military charities.

Mr Carr, who founded the charity with communications specialist, Susan Osborne, said they support a wide range of charities and many were feeling the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Although relatively new, Mr Carr said the Purple Poppy Appeal, which raises money through donations and the sale of purple poppy pins, has been very well supported.

Due to the pandemic the appeal’s big launch became an online concert, featuring special guests and hosted by TV presenter Chris Hollins.

“Everyone involved gave their time for free, it is wonderful people care so much,” Mr Carr said.

This was going to be a landmark year for the charity as it has a big educational project ready to launch. But Mr Carr said the plans may be on hold for the moment but they were all very much looking forward to putting them into action.

The Purple Poppy Appeal runs until December with August 23 celebrated as National Purple Poppy Day.

“We chose the date as it marks the first loss of an equine life in battle at the Battle of Mons,” Mr Carr explained.

The War Horse memorial was designed and made by Lancashire-born sculptor Susan Leyland who studied the anatomy of the equines used in the war and created a single piece which represented them all.

“Susan is the most amazing sculptor. She put her heart and soul into it. The sculpture is made up of 17 parts and there is a reason for every one. Each time you look at it you see a different horse,” Mr Carr said.

Horses and the military have been a long-running part of Mr Carr’s life. His father served in the Royal Horse Artillery and he lived and worked in Ascot, a town synonymous with horse racing.

Mr Carr was also a principle member of ‘Team Sophie’ who raised the money to buy Paralympic gold medallist Sophie Christianson’s 2012 horse, Rio.

As the centenary of the Great War approached, Mr Carr said he found out that a hundred years later there was no dedicated memorial to the millions of horses, donkeys and mules who served alongside the soldiers.

He said he felt it was important they were remembered.

“The Great War was pretty much won through equines. They pulled ambulances, guns and transported food, without them the army wouldn’t have functioned.”

More than eight million horses along with countless numbers of donkeys and mules died during the conflict.

“I thought it would be really fitting if we could do something for the centenary and when I did a bit of research I found the greatest war horse in the Great War was a racehorse.”

Poppy now stands in Ascot and is seen by racegoers and the Queen when they visit the racecourse. When she was unveiled, one of the wreaths laid was from the Queen.

Mr Carr said they felt it was important to leave a legacy which would support both equines and the military who had served together, neither with a choice, during the War.

There are a network of businesses, ambassadors and charities which sell the purple poppy pins and Mr Carr said they have a great deal of support in Yorkshire.

And their work is growing, with the first bursary presented at the end of last year. Military veteran Cliff O’Farrell suffered life-changing injuries in an explosion while on duty in Afghanistan.

Mr Carr said they were delighted to be able to support Mr O’Farrell train for a new career and looked forward to being able to help many more people in the future.