Forums at The Military Horse

barra wrote:http://www.dva.gov.au/sa%5Fnt/commemora ... thorse.htm

Here is a phto of the lighthorse memorial in Adelaide South Australia with adjoining war horse memorial which is an actual horse trough. Every ANZAC day a memorial is held here and homage paid to not only the Light Horsemen but also their trusty steeds. After the traditional wreaths are laid, someone invariably places a carrot or apple on the trough in memory of the horses.

This one is the south African memorial (Boer War) also in Adelaide South Australia.

http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image ... 4d1f69767b

Barra

Australia has some great ones. Somewhere we have a really dramatic Light Horse Memorial photograph up. I'd forgotten about it until you posted these, and I'll have to see if I can find it.

I'll cross post this one on the Boer War thread, given the great Boer War link there.

Very unusual WWI memorial here, but very fitting.

In memorium.

Feel free (i.e., please) add to any you may have appropriate here.

(And made "sticky", i.e, placed at the top of the forum, for the day).

Though this isn't a Great War memorial it is a great war memorial:

Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment, bronze by Augustus Saint-Gaudens:

http://z.about.com/d/arthistory/1/0/A/g/pa_neh_19.jpg

This memorial is located on Beacon Street near the frog pond just outside the Boston common in downtown Boston. I sort of liked it when it was green with age but I will say that the detail is more vivid since restoration.

Memorial to the Desert Mounted Corp located at Albany Western Australia.

http://www.skp.com.au/memorials2/pages/60090.htm

http://www.rainbowcoast.com.au/areas/al ... arence.htm

Here is the memorial of the 3. Garde-Ulanen in Potsdam.

from "Deutsche Kavallerie in Krieg und Frieden" by Major a. D. von Egan-Krieger

1923 erstand in Potsdam nahe der alten Kaserne das Denkmal des Regiments, ein Ulan mit der Lanze zu Pferde aus Erz gegossen, den alten Ulanen eine Erinnerung, der neuen heranwachsenden Generation ein Vorbild kühnen Reitens und kühnen Kämpfens, mit Gott für König und Vaterland. Hier vereinen sich alle drei Jahre die alten Gelben im stolzen Gedenken ihrer Toten und ihres alten schönen Regiments.

The memorial does not exist any more - thanks to all comunist anti-cultural bolsheviks!

Horrido!

Nicole

This memorial stands at the spot were the first Belgian soldier was killed in action on 4 august 1914, it was lancer Antoine Fonck of the 2 Lancer Regiment. Besides the "Chaussée Charlemagne" (the road direction Liége) at the small village Thimister-Clermont.







Some more info,
in French,
http://www.thimister-clermont.be/fr/entites/fonck.htm

in Flemish,
http://www.warcemetery.eu/index194.HTML

Jan

Here are couple pictures of the Veterans War Memorial for Oneida County in Malad Idaho. My wife and I stop there on every trip to Salt Lake the old fashioned drug store has a little bit of everything.

I've been by Malad scores of times but never stopped there. Maybe next time. Friends of mine grew up there though and always went home every year to take their limit of chukkars and huns. It seems that the folks there enjoy a longevity that rivals Shangrila; when my friends father went home for his 75th high school reunion the entire class showed up. That would be about 20 people but they all made it.

Pat; note the painted bricks in the second photo.

Sandy

selewis wrote:
Pat; note the painted bricks in the second photo.

Sandy

I was noticing that also.

I drive by it three or four times a day and I didn't think of posting a pic. Certainly one of the best cavalry monuments in the U.S. The middle gives an idea of the presentation. The last indicates the detail. Its a very large statue.

The Converse County Wyoming courthouse has a memorial for county residents who lost their lives in every war since World War One. I've never really examined it closely, but I read the names on it today while waiting for something. The memorial list the names of all of these individuals, and their rank and service branch.

To my surprise, one of the people listed, a "Van [middle name] Irvine" was listed as "British Flying Corps".
http://warmonument.blogspot.com/2011/11 ... orial.html

What a surprise. Douglas is not a large town now, and was a very small town in 1914-18. There was an Irvine family, with at least one fairly recent "Van Irvine" that had recent Scottish roots at that time, and perhaps that explains that. But it certainly isn't something I'd expect to see.

I cross posted the Irvine information on the WWI list, and learned some really interesting information as a result.

Here they are:

Pat,

I think that you'll find the fallen flier is:

Flight Lt. Van Rensselaer Van Tassel IRVINE (aged 22), 43 Squadron RAF, d. 19 July 1918. He is commemorated on the Arras memorial and the associated CWGC entry records that he was the son of Carolyne W. Irvine, 446 San Vincente Boulevard, Santa Monica California. His father was William C. Irvine, d. Santa Monica 1924. [sources: CWGC online; http://www.linkpendium.com/genealogy/US ... ur-Irvine/)

Fraternally,

Julian

Patrick

British & Commonwealth War dead (including US citizens who fell fighting in them) are recorded by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, who administer their graves and memorials. Their website is at: http://www.cwgc.org
and records:

IRVINE, VAN REUSSELAER VAN TASSEL

Son of Carolyne W. Irvine, of 446, San Vincente Boulevard, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A., and the late William C. Irvine.

Killed as a Lieutenant, Royal Air Force, while serving with 43 Squadron RAF 19th July 1918.

Commemorated on the Arras Memorial.

Phil

The Sky their Battlefield (Trevor Henshaw) notes that he was flying Sopwith Camel F6150 possibly shot down over Nanteuil by Vizefeldwebel J Schwendemann of Jasta 41.

There should be a brief service record in AIR 76 at The National Archives & if I have time tomorrow will endeavour to seek it out.

Phil

This added information makes this a true local historical oddity.

Flight Lt. Van Rensselaer Van Tassel Irvine, we now know, was the son of William C. Irvine. William C. Irvine was from Scotland, and had come over to Natrona County Wyoming in the late 1880s to act as the overseer for a Scottish owned corporate ranch, the VR. VR itself stands for Victoria Regina, as the owners of that ranch named it after the Queen. The VR was one of the northernmost "large" ranches in the state (although not the northernmost) and was involved in the plotting that lead to the importation of hired Texas gunmen in April 1892, which resulted in the Johnson County War. Mr. W. Irvine himself absented himself from the state during this period, retuning, I believe to Scotland during this episode, although it's
widely believed he was aware of the planning for the "Invasion". He returned after the episode, and retained a presence in the state for many years thereafter The Irvine family continued to own their own ranching operation in the state at least up into the early 80s, when a later Van Irvine retired and moved to the southwest.

The "Invaders" remained somewhat unpopular in this region of the state, although they didn't leave, for many years thereafter. They were well connected politically, however, and some interesting things were named after them, including streets in Casper, Wyoming. "Van Tassel", which shows up in Flight Lt. Irvine's name, is a name that has been attached to a location in Converse County.

It's interesting that somebody remembered Ft. Lt. Irvine at the time the memorial was put up, as he wouldn't have appeared in U.S. roles. While the little history noted above is off topic, it's also interesting in that he came from a family that was associated with controversy, but that fortunately didn't deter anyone from honoring his memory. While the data on him notes that he and his family were from California, I think at that time the Irvine's maintained a residence there as well as ranching interests in Wyoming, having done quite well over time.

Very interesting Pat. I was wondering about the name.

If it is the same family, the Irvine's had large holdings in California that comprised the greater part of Orange County from the crest of the coastal range to the Pacific Ocean.The Irvine Company still is in existence and has been gradually parcelling out land for development since the late 1950's when that area started to boom. Mission Viego, Laguna Nigel, El Toro (the old lighter than air Marine base) and no less than dozens of other municipalities, including the city of Irvine, were all carved out of the old Irvine Ranch. Despite this, the ranch is still quite large making it the biggest player in the development of Orange County. So large in fact that as recently as 20 years ago agriculture was still the number one industry in that county, which surprises a lot of people. I don't know what shares in the company the family still retains. Needless to say that in such a location, location, location, power strugles have been numerous. I believe Joan Irvine was the last of that name to actually have her hands on the helm. Among her other cultural and charitable projects she was a driving force in establishing and retaining horse related activities in the area.

I can't leave this subject without mentioning a curious event that occurred at the time when market pressures and the desires of the county fathers began to exert themselves on the ranch and some kind of development seemed inevitable. The head of the ranch-Myford Irvine IIRC- was the main obstacle to progress along those lines and had declared publicly and in private meetings that he had no interest in divesting any of his land for that purpose. He liked things as they were. He was also involved with the local Boy Scouts and on the eve of a meeting in which he had discussed with the council his exciting plans for the future of that organization he went home and shot himself, twice in the stomach with a shotgun, and then a 22 rifle coup de gras. The matter was quickly investigated and ruled a suicide. Perhaps so, but one can't help but wonder, and many did, privately. At any rate, Myford's timely demise marked a major turning point in the development of Orange County, California.

Sandy

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/irvi ... -francisco

Not so big as I thought: a google search indicates that the Irvines only owned a third of present day Orange County. Heck, you could circumnavigate that on a horse in less than a week.

It's been more than 30 years since I looked into this and I must apologize for having some facts a little skewed. Further checking reveals that Myford was actually the first member of the family to begin selling off small portions of land, after WWII. But I do recall an old newspaper article stating that he was at odds with other movers and shakers around the time of his death. Anyway, things really took off in an accelerated, if not entirely new, fashion after his 'suicide' in 1959. He was the grandson of James Irvine and Joan Irvine's uncle. Among other place names, there is a Boy Scout camp named after him, Camp Myford.

Sandy, that's very interesting. There must be a connection between the California Irvines, and the Wyoming ones, but I don't know what it is.

William C. Irvine, the young pilot's father, was a major figure in Wyoming cattle ranching for many years, although he was always somewhat controversial. He was a figure in the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, which had a quasi official role in organizing the range and policing it in Wyoming and southern Montana in the late 19th Century. The WSGA still exists, and many stockmen belong to it, so it's survived all these many years, but it's early history has been controversial due to the Johnson County War. Irvine was President of the WSGA at some point early in the 20th Century, during a period in which it was still regarded as a bit of a big cattle entity (today just as many small cattlemen as large ones belong to the WSGA). It must have been his grandson who was still ranching here in the 80s, on a place that was very large. While they are now no longer here, they were a significant presence for about a century. That the same family, it would appear, had a branch that was significant in California is very interesting.

On Flight Lt. Irvine, here's some more interesting information:

Patrick

His AIR 76 record is sparse (though many of them are as I think they were compiled after the war as a digest of previous records) but one thing is quite clear. His Permanent Home address is given as Ross, Wyoming, USA. His father (next of kin) is given as William C J Irvine c/o Commercial Bank & Trust Co, Douglas, Wyoming, USA.

Van's civilian occupation is given as Student - Ridley College, St Catharines, Ontario, Canada (1907 - 1915).

After training in England he seems to have been with 43 Squadron for 6 weeks - between 08/05/18 and being shown as missing on 19/07/1918. Probably about the standard survival rate for a pilot fresh at the front.......

Phil

The movies love to depict a certain type of romanticized ranching, in which British interests operate some huge place with elaborate furnishings, and old world connection. This is very far from the mark for the overwhelming majority of 19th and early 20th Century ranches, which were largely hard scrabble outfits. But every so often, very rarely, you run across something that sort of approaches the myth. Here was have the young man with very close British connections, giving a Wyoming location as his permanent address, with his parents apparently giving a California address as theirs, while still living in Wyoming, and with the young man attending university in Canada. What an interesting, if short, story.

In looking up some of the data on this, I see my recollection was incorrect, and W. C. Irvine was in fact a participant in the Johnson County War, rather than being absented. This would make his son's presence on the memorial all the more notable, really, given the controversy that engendered.

The Belgian Cavalerie monument in Brussels, it remembers all the cavalrymen and horses from 1830, world war 1 and 2.

http://www.mod.be/cav/gall/index.asp?LA ... 518&PAGE=1





Jan

Neat memorial!