Real World War One War Horses were trained at Lathom Park near Ormskirk - In The Mix Today - News

Real World War One War Horses were trained at Lathom Park near Ormskirk - In The Mix Today - News
HORSES played a major part on the battlefields of World War One, as the new Steven Spielberg film War Horse portrays.
More than 200,000 horses that went to war with the soldiers were trained near Ormskirk.
Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo and adapted from a successful stage play, War Horse tells the story of Albert Narracott, his horse Joey and their trials up to the end of World War One.
Research shows that when World War One broke out in 1914, Liverpool was chosen as a port site for the importing of horses to be used during hostilities.
Local historian Richard Houghton says: “There was no suitable site for the training of horses near the city so the trustees of Lord Lathom told the War Department it could use Lathom Park free of charge.

Lathom Park Army Horses Training Centre

“Horses arrived from as far away as South Africa and Argentina as well as Ireland. They were transported to Ormskirk by rail and then on to Lathom Park, which had its own railway station. Those that were found to be lame on arrival were taken to the veterinary hospital at Scarisbrick Hall.”

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