Farewell to the Horses: Diary of a British Tommy 1915-1919

by Robert Elverstone

Overview

Cady Hoyte, like many other young lads of his generation, proudly joined the army in 1915 to fight for his king and country. From the Warwickshire town of Nuneaton, he joined the Warwickshire Yeomanry as a gunner in the Machine Gun Corps and quickly found that army life made no concessions for an eager young 19 year old. Never having ridden a horse before, he develops a relationship with the horses, which makes it all the harder when he has to say farewell and leave them behind to sail aboard the stricken ship, the Leasowe Castle, to fight as a machine gunner in the trenches of France. Written with humor, Cady’s diary gives a detailed account of the daily struggles and constant dangers of army life without ever losing sight of his respect for human life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750952224
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Robert Elverstone was a primary school literacy teacher for thirty-five years before retiring to become a full-time writer. A keen photographer, musician, and songwriter, he regularly produced school magazines and has written a short History of Hinckley. His first story, Charlotte’s Dad, won the Pickwell Books/Walker Books Short Story Competition in 2011.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 7

Foreword 8

Introduction 9

1 1915-TidworthTraining Camp 11

2 Disembarkation - HMS Caledonia 16

3 Cairo 24

4 Salhieh 31

5 Ballah and Bally Bunion 34

6 Khantara 40

7 Hassaniya 48

8 Dispatches 54

9 El Arish 58

10 First Attack on Gaza 64

11 Second Attack on Gaza 70

12 Port Said 73

13 The Fall of Gaza 77

14 Jerusalem 81

15 Farewell to the Horses 86

16 Horse Tales 92

17 Alexandria 94

18 The Sinking of the Leasowe Castle 97

19 Across Italy by Train 101

20 The Western Front 105

21 Leave 111

22 Armistice 115

23 The Final Match 121

24 Sunday 126