Last week’s Remembrance Sunday was a poignant and thought-provoking commemoration of the men and women who lost their lives in the First World War, and in the wars that have followed it.

It was also a reminder of the animals that have filled a variety of roles in warfare, from carrying men and munitions, evacuating the wounded, performing guard duties, carrying out search and rescue operations, detecting gas in trenches, and locating unexploded bombs.

The greatest number of animal casualties in conflict have been horses, ponies, donkeys and mules.

They would carry heavy guns, ammunition and vital supplies to and from the battle grounds, overcoming rough terrain that was impassable for motorised vehicles.

They would also transport wounded soldiers to field stations and hospitals, and, of course, they carried cavalry soldiers.

It is estimated that eight million horses and countless ponies, donkeys and mules died in the First World War, not only from the horrors of shellfire but also due to appalling conditions, often suffering agonising deaths from wounds, starvation, thirst, exhaustion, disease and exposure.

The MSPCA’s annual accounts records show that it sent money to The Blue Cross Fund, which was founded in the same year as the society (1897) and which raised many thousands of pounds to help equines in the First World War.

More than £50,000 horses were treated in Blue Cross hospitals in France and the charity sent vital veterinary supplies to 3,500 units of the British Army.

Most animals used in contemporary military service are working dogs - they were deployed, for example, to locate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In times gone by dogs would carry water and medical supplies to men on the front line, and they would locate wounded soldiers and lead stretcher parties to them.

Given dogs were able to navigate battlefields more quickly and easily than humans, they were also trained to carry messages. This task was especially important when technology failed or when other forms of communication were cut off.

Dogs and cats were kept in the trenches of the First World War to help maintain hygiene by killing disease-spreading pests such as rats.

The photograph above (courtesy of the Imperial War Museum) is of a gunner of the York and Lancaster Regiment with the regimental cat in a trench near Cambrin in France, in February 2018.

Casper, Blair and Turnip are likely to turn out to be good ’mousers’ given they have come from a rural environment.

Blair, the female (pictured in the middle), is about two years old and the boys are about 12 months old.

They have all recently been neutered and spayed and we would like to rehome them together if we can.

We would like them to lead long and peaceful lives, unlike the animals that lived and died a hundred years ago in the trenches.

If you come to meet these three lovely cats, or any of our other rescue animals, this Sunday (18th) you can also visit our annual Christmas fair and artisan market. It will run from 1pm to 4pm in the play barn and is a perfect opportunity to do some Christmas shopping.

Stalls will be selling traditional crafts as well as more unusual gifts using natural materials such as beach glass and local stone. Foxdale School has kindly allowed us to use its car park and we will be running a shuttle bus to and from it every few minutes.

We look forward to seeing you!