War Horse

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Joey is a young farm horse, sold to the army at the beginning of the First World War. Through his eyes the reader experiences the devastation of the Western Front, his capture by the Germans and his entrapment in No Man's Land. At the start of the story, Joey is a colt. Find out the words that we use to describe other young animals.

The third inspiration for the book, was an old oil painting that belonged to Morpurgo's wife Clare: "It was a very frightening and alarming painting, not the sort you'd want to hang on a wall. It showed horses during the First World War charging into barbed wire fences. It haunted me." The painting - by artist F. W. Reed - is dated 1917, and depicts a British cavalry charge on German lines, with horses entangled in barbed wire. Morpurgo mentions a fictionalised version of this painting in his 'Author's Note' at the start of the book. In this version, the painting shows a red bay (horse) with a white cross on his forehead, and the painting bears the legend: "Joey. Painted by Captain James Nicholls, Autumn 1914."On its first publication in 1982 the book was only translated into a 'handful' of languages. As a side effect of the interest in the film adaptation by Steven Spielberg, the publishers of the book have recently been "inundated" with requests for translation rights for the book to coincide with the film's release in late 2011. [20] Albert says that the best thing that his dad ever did was buy Joey. What is the best thing that you’ve ever done? One of the kids who came to the farm from Birmingham, a boy called Billy, the teachers warned me that he had a stammer and told me not to ask him direct questions because it would terrify him if he had to be made to speak because he doesn’t speak...I came in the last evening into the yard behind this big Victorian house where they all live, and there he was, Billy, standing in his slippers by the stable door and the lantern above his head, talking. Talking, talking, talking, to the horse. And the horse, Hebe, had her head just over the top of the stable, and she was listening; that’s what I noticed, that the ears were going, and I knew she knew that she had to stay there whilst this went on, because this kid wanted to talk, and the horse wanted to listen—this was a two way thing...I went and got the teachers, and brought them up through the vegetable garden, and we stood there in the shadows, and we listened to Billy talking, and they were completely amazed how this child who couldn’t get a word out—the words were simply flowing. All the fear had gone, and there was something about the intimacy of this relationship, the trust building up between boy and horse, that I found enormously moving, and I thought: Well yes, you could write a story about the First World War through the eyes of a horse, and yes, the horse didn't understand every word, but she knew it was important for her to stand there and be there for this child." [5] Soon, however, Germans pass by their farm, and take away the horses to pull their artillery wagon. The two meet Friedrich, who befriends them and tries to care for them, growing to love Topthorn and telling them that he did not want to be a soldier. Joey and Topthorn are two of the last few survivors of the artillery-pulling team. One day, after drinking water with Joey, Topthorn dies from heart failure. The Allied artillery starts shelling right after the Germans and Friedrich is killed. After seeing an Allied tank for the first time, Joey runs in terror and is wounded by barbed wire before breaking free. Both the Allied and German soldiers see the wounded Joey in no-man's-land, and a British soldier wins possession of him by flipping a coin with a German soldier and winning. However, their few minutes of friendly peace create a bond between the two before they separate. Brooke, Simon (29 January 2010). "My perfect weekend: Michael Morpurgo". The Daily Telegraph. London.

A young man called Albert embarks on a dangerous quest to locate his beloved horse in the First World War and bring him safely home. A Welsh version of the novel, adapted by Casia Wiliam and titled Ceffyl Rhyfel, was published by Gwasg Carreg Gwalch in 2010. [17] Further information [ edit ] At the veterinary hospital, Joey happens to be cared for by Albert, who works there and has a friend named David. Albert realizes that Joey is his old horse only after cleaning all the mud off him, and seeing how he responds to his whistle. Albert starts caring for Joey again like he used to. Later, David and two horses from the hospital are killed by a stray shell, putting Albert in a state of depression, as David had cared for him like a brother. At the end of the war, Major Martin announces that they will auction off all the horses, despite the protests of Sergeant Thunder and the rest of the soldiers. During the auction, Sergeant Thunder loses to an old man for Joey. The man is Emilie's grandfather and was looking for Joey. Emilie's grandfather tells Albert about how Joey and Topthorn came to their farm, and that Emilie had lost the will to live after they were taken from her, with Emilie fading away and dying at just 15 years old. Emilie's grandfather sells Joey to Albert for a cheap price, in return for telling people about Emilie, and keeping her memory alive. Albert and Joey return to England, where they live in peace and Joey meets Albert's girlfriend, Maisie, with whom he does not get along very well. Topthorn and Joey become artillery horses, pulling heavy guns. One by one, the work takes its toll on the horses. Topthorn dies from heart failure one day, along with the man taking care of both Topthorn and Joey. Joey stays by Topthorn's side all night and into the next day, until he is faced with a tank. He panics and runs deep into No Man's Land. He is found by a British soldier and a German soldier, and they flip a coin to see who'll get Joey. The British side wins and Joey is brought to a veterinary hospital. There he is reunited with Albert and his friend David. However, Joey has a severe case of tetanus and many people around the hospital believe that he will not survive. But, thanks to Albert, David, and a few others, Joey makes a full recovery.Morpurgo, Michael (1 January 2014). "First world war centenary is a year to honour the dead but not to glorify". The Guardian.

With his wife, Morpurgo had founded Farms for City Children, a charity where inner city children live and work on rural farms for a week. [4] Interviewed by Fi Glover on Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 in December 2010, Morpurgo recounted the event that convinced him he could write the book: Once upon a life: Michael Morpurgo". The Observer. London. 11 July 2010 . Retrieved 4 February 2011. A radio adaptation of the book was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on 8 November 2008. [16] It featured Timothy Spall starring as the voice of Albert, Brenda Blethyn as Mother and Bob Hoskins as Sergeant Thunder. The radio play was rebroadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 11 November 2011 as part of a special Remembrance sequence. Albert's mother supplies the quiet strength that underpins the Narracott family, but her hands are tied by the rules and traditions of the time that prevented a woman from overriding the sway of her husband. Her work ethic is deeply ingrained and she is matter-of-fact in most situations. She is very demonstrative in her love for Albert and is clearly a loving, encouraging, and protective mother. Albert's FatherThe painting mentioned in the preface of the book, a portrait of Joey painted by Captain Nicholls and now hanging in the Village Hall (of an unnamed village), was a fiction of Morpurgo's. However, particularly since the success of the stage version of the book, so many tourists have come to the village of Iddesleigh, where Morpurgo lives, and asked to see the painting in the village hall, that in 2011 Morpurgo commissioned an artist to paint just such an oil painting to hang there. He used equine artist Ali Bannister, who acted as the chief "equine hair and make-up" artist on the Steven Spielberg film of the book and who also drew the sketches of Joey seen in the film. [21] The book was originally supposed to end with Joey being sold to a butcher for horse meat, and Emilie's grandfather giving an enamel horse pin to Albert to remember Joey by. Morpurgo recalled in another article: "As I listened to this boy telling the horse everything he'd done on the farm that day, I suddenly had the idea that of course the horse didn't understand every word, but that she knew it was important for her to stand there and be there for this child." The end of the war arrives suddenly; when the men are about to leave for home, Albert asks Major Martin about the fate of the horses. He learns that they will be auctioned off, likely to local butchers who will slaughter them for meat. Major Martin gives the men every penny of his salary to try to win Joey at auction. They are outbid by the butcher, but at the last minute another bid is received and Joey is sold to Emilie's grandfather. Emilie died after the horses left the farm, and the old man wants to keep Joey in her memory. When he hears Albert's story, the grandfather sells Joey to Albert for one penny, as long as Albert promises to keep Emilie's memory alive. Albert does so. Albert's father, troubled by his inability to keep his farm financially sound, drinks to excess weekly. He is normally a loving husband and father, but when he drinks he abuses his loved ones verbally, and mistreats Joey the horse.