'War horses' parade through Church Stretton to mark anniversary

Eighteen animals, dressed up as cavalry horses, paraded through Church Stretton as part of the town's commemorations to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War.

They were part of a parade led by the town's branch of the Royal British Legion to a service at St Laurence's Church.

But the horses were a little more local than it might have appeared at first glance – they had been brought along by members of the Long Mynd Bridleways Association, based in the town.

Association member Teresa Walker said: "We are all very proud to be part of this. We bought all the equipment to make the horses look the same, and we all had either tweed or lack jackets – it is a uniformed look.

"The horses all hadv rosettes on like the war horses did. They're all privately owned by the members.

"It's to remember the men and horses that marched and fought in the war for us," she said.

Mark Tocknell, church warden at St Laurence's Church, said: "We had a wonderful church service, the congregation was about 250 people, including the mayor and town council and members from local organisations. The Royal British Legion paraded flags into the church and the rector (Rev Richard Hill) spoke very well on the war. Clergy from all the churches in the town took part.

"Two cadets read out the roll of honour from the First World War and Rev Haigh Etches, who is a retired clergyman and member of the historical society, gave biographical details of a number of those whose names had been read.

"Having some information to flesh out the names made a real difference."

Nigel Marsden, Royal British Legion chairman, read war poem Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen during the service, which was held on Sunday.