The Lost War Horses of Cairo: The Passion of Dorothy Brooke

Description

In 1930 wealthy Scottish socialite Dorothy Brooke followed her new husband to Cairo, where she discovered thousands of suffering former British war horses leading lives of toil and misery. Brought to the Middle East by British forces during the Great War, these ex-cavalry horses had been left behind at the war's end, abandoned as used equipment too costly to send home. Grant Hayter-Menzies chronicles not only the lives and eventual rescue of these noble creatures, who after years of deprivation and suffering found respite in the Old War Horse Memorial Hospital established by Dorothy, but also the story of the challenges of founding and maintaining an animal-rescue institution on this scale. The legacy of the Old War Horse Memorial Hospital and its founder endures today in the dozens of international Brooke animal-welfare facilities dedicated to improving the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules across Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Grant Hayter-Menzies is the author of several books, including From Stray Dog to World War I Hero: The Paris Terrier Who Joined the First Division. He has also specialised in biographies of lesser-known, extraordinary women. He lives in Vancouver.

This book is a superb tribute to Dorothy Brooke and her belief that such a charitable venture would form 'a fitting part of a War Memorial.'...Utterly compelling. -- Joanna Lumley This lovingly researched, evocative biography of Dorothy Brooke proves her a heroine not just to the battered and beaten old warhorses she saved in 1930s Cairo but to those who continue her legacy today. -- Susanna Forrest, author of THE AGE OF THE HORSE A tribute to a courageous woman who worked to reduce suffering. -- Temple Grandin, author of ANIMALS MAKE US HUMAN A galloping tale of the intertwined histories of the last days of the British Empire in Egypt, the politics of human-animal relationships and an organisation whose work continues to this day. -- Alan Mikhail, professor of history at Yale University and author of THE ANIMAL IN OTTOMAN EGYPT A story of deep connection, compassion, empathy and love. Thanks to the author for making Dorothy Brooke visible and for taking the time to tell us about a most amazing and compassionate woman. -- Marc Bekoff, author of THE ANIMALS' AGENDA