“Honour, indeed, we owed to those lost, neglected ones, those who toiled in our wagons, those who galloped our guns” wrote poet Will Ogilvie in 1934 after Dorothy Brooke began her campaign of helping former warhorses in Egypt.

Looking at the legacy section of the exhibition, Ann Searight (pictured right with Brooke CEO Petra Ingram on left), the Brooke’s Honorary Vice President admired photos of her grandmother, Dorothy Brooke who founded the Brooke in 1934 – now operating in ten countries worldwide. You could see Dorothy Brooke’s 1931 appeal for funds in the Morning Post, which led to the start of the Old War Memorial Hospital in Cairo, still running today. 

A touch of Royalty

HRH The Duchess of Cornwall, President of the Brooke also attended the event and unveiled a watercolour painting of Sefton, a horse badly injured in a 1982 IRA nail bomb attack on the Household Cavalry in Hyde park. The painting went on show with other horses painted by Brooke Chief Executive Petra Ingram and celebrities including Alan Titchmarsh and Sir Peter O’Sullevan, former BBC racing correspondent and Patron of the Brooke.

With lots of people expected to visit the National Army Museum, we want to remind people that these horse heroes are honoured and remembered today and always will be by the legacy left by our founder, Dorothy Brooke.

Scroll through photos from the opening night.