Members of the services, mounted police and celebrities including Angela Rippon (representing the charity, Brooke) and Jenny Seagrove (Mane Chance Sanctuary) gathered to honour animals and pets affected by war.
It is a very busy location for a service, right in the middle of Park Lane, but somehow even the traffic seemed to stay quiet as our service began with a minute’s silence.
The event was attended by two members of His Majesty’s Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment and, following the minute’s silence, Captain Henry Tregear read a beautiful poem called A Soldier’s Kiss.
Also in attendance were two members of the Mounted Police – on horseback, of course – as well as dogs representing many different organisations or just with their owners. The theme of this year’s service was those animals and pets affected by war rather than actually used or engaged by armed forces. We were very fortunate to have some wonderful speakers.
Dr Hilda Kean, author and historian, spoke about the pets forcibly euthanised in the UK as a direct consequence of the war. Ed Gummery, Chair of the Welsh Pony & Cob Society gave us a brief history of how the ponies had been used in a variety of ways during conflicts as pack horses, pit ponies and general beasts of burden.
Natasha Wakely, archivist at the Zoological Society of London, told us how the zoo had coped during two world wars protecting their collections – astonishingly they didn’t lose a single animal during the conflicts but were constantly short of food for them.
The first part of the event was rounded off by Flight Sargeant Mark Ginger of the RAF Police Dog Section who read a truly moving poem called Guardians of the Night.
More than 30 animal welfare organisations attended the event and a representative of each came out in turn to lay a wreath at the base of the memorial.
To close the event, Mike Armitage of Pigeons in War and Angela Rippon released two white pigeons as a symbol of peace and hope for the future.
All images courtesy Wayne Jones Photography
Buy an Animals in War Purple Poppy Available as a lapel pin and a collar badge for your pet to wear with pride. Every sale helps support animal welfare projects across the UK and beyond.
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