ABSTRACT
Portrayals of the soldier-horse relationship were part of a long-established tradition that became particularly popular in the Victorian and Edwardian periods. By following these familiar themes into The Great War, and by focusing particularly on The War Illustrated, we are able to consider how they evolved as the War itself developed. Importantly, these images are not used here solely to prove the existence of a soldier-horse relationship, or conversely, to discredit it as having been nothing more than a myth. Rather, we are able to ask important questions about how the War was portrayed, and why the soldier-horse relationship had such appeal. Having established the sense behind the soldier-horse relationship, it now becomes possible to explore the soldier-horse relationship’s sentimentalisation without becoming overly sentimental. The result is an invaluable insight into how the War was presented to people at home, as the conflict progressed, and as public feeling shifted.
