Great War Stories Bess the horse
Some 10,000 New Zealand horses went overseas to serve in the First World War. Some were packhorses, many of which helped on the Western Front. Bess was among the several thousand riding horses that served with New Zealand’s mounted forces in Sinai and Palestine, and were much loved by their riders. Bess was lucky to survive – she survived the dangers of being transported, and the high risk of being killed in action or dying of disease in the Middle East. She had to put up with poor feed, little water and extremes of heat and cold. Bess was the only horse from the Middle East to return home to New Zealand – and only three other horses returned from the Western Front.
Short films telling personal stories about New Zealanders affected by Gallipoli and the First World War.
Primary Title
- Great War Stories
Episode Title
- Bess the horse
Date Broadcast
- Monday 12 February 2018
Original Broadcast Date
- Sunday 10 August 2014
Duration
- 04:28
Series
- 1
Episode
- 7
Channel
- Internet
Broadcaster
- New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage
Programme Description
- Short films telling personal stories about New Zealanders affected by Gallipoli and the First World War.
Episode Description
- Some 10,000 New Zealand horses went overseas to serve in the First World War. Some were packhorses, many of which helped on the Western Front. Bess was among the several thousand riding horses that served with New Zealand’s mounted forces in Sinai and Palestine, and were much loved by their riders. Bess was lucky to survive – she survived the dangers of being transported, and the high risk of being killed in action or dying of disease in the Middle East. She had to put up with poor feed, little water and extremes of heat and cold. Bess was the only horse from the Middle East to return home to New Zealand – and only three other horses returned from the Western Front.
Classification
- Unknown
Owning Collection
- Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
- Television
Languages
- English
Captions
Live Broadcast
- No
Rights Statement
- Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Notes
- Research and scripts: AC Productions. Images, historic video and further sources: Archives New Zealand and National Library of New Zealand. Originally broadcast as a segment of TV3 News (now Newshub), MediaWorks Television.
Subjects
- World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, New Zealand
- World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns--Turkey--Gallipoli Peninsula
- Soldiers' writings, New Zealand
- Documentary television programs--New Zealand
Genres
- Biography
- History
- War
Contributors
- Hilary Barry (Narrator)
- Anna Cottrell (Director)
- Anna Cottrell (Producer)
- AC Productions (Production Unit)
- NZ On Air (Funder)
Subjects
- World War, 1914-1918--Personal narratives, New Zealand
- World War, 1914-1918--Campaigns--Turkey--Gallipoli Peninsula
- Soldiers' writings, New Zealand
- Documentary television programs--New Zealand