Leader of the Pack

Paul Williams examines the history of War Horse

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In 1982, Sir Michael Morpurgo wrote a novel that was to become a global phenomenon. Set against the turbulent and tragic backdrop of World War One, War Horse has now sold more than two million copies worldwide and has been published in 44 different languages.

The book is a remarkable and touching story about a young lad called Albert and his beloved horse Joey who is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. What follows is an extraordinary and poignant tale as Albert leaves the family farm in Devon to find the horse and bring him home, unaware of the horrors that Joey and his officer are faced with as they grapple with the enemy on the Western Front. First published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward Ltd, the novel was later adapted into an award-winning stage play and a film directed by Steven Spielberg.

Sir Michael, born in St Albans, Hertfordshire in 1943, got the idea for the book after meeting Great War veteran Wilfred Ellis in his local pub at Iddesleigh, near Winkleigh in Devon. Ellis had served in the Devon Yeomanry, working with horses and, as the author listened to the tales recounted by the veteran, began to realise there was scope for a story based on the suffering endured during the Great War but seen through the eyes of horses rather than soldiers.

Although excited by the idea, Morpurgo was also a little unsure he could pull it off.

Further conversations in the village, initially with a Captain Budgett, who had served with the cavalry during the Great War, and then later with villager Albert Weeks, who recalled the army buying up horses in the village, confirmed to Morpurgo there was indeed a story to be had, and the author went on to thank the three men in the dedication of the book.