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Donkey display highlights role of animals in wartime

Fiona Callow
BBC News, Yorkshire
BBC A woman with a short blonde bob, wearing a blue jumper and blue patterned scarf, holds the lead rope of a miniature donkey. The donkey is wearing a union jack neckerchief and a saddle with two baskets on either side. The woman is smiling and petting the donkey's nose. BBC
Sarah Booth from the Donkey Breed Society, with Teddy the miniature donkey

A military museum in North Yorkshire had a very different type of visitor today - one with long ears, four legs and an important role in conflicts, past and present.

The Green Howards Museum in Richmond hosted Tom, Maurice and Teddy, from Blackberry Donkeys, as part of its ongoing Animals Allies exhibition.

Visitors were able to get up close with the equines, see authentic wartime packsaddles and VE War brasses, and learn about the role of donkeys in military history.

Steve Erskine, regimental researcher at The Green Howards Museum said: "We think it's important to be more than just the bangs and the bullets, but to tell all those other stories that don't necessarily get coverage."

The Donkeys at the Museum event was created in partnership with the Donkey Breed Society, and features a display of purple poppies, created to commemorate all the animals that played a vital role in global wars.

The organisation has been showcasing both the poppies and donkeys owned by members of the society around military museums across North Yorkshire, including York Army Museum.

An older man, wearing a pink shirt, purple, yellow and green striped tie, brown tweed gilet and glasses stands outside a stone archway next to a sign for The Green Howards Museum. Above the museum sign is plaque with that reads: National Lottery Funded.
Steve Erskine, regimental researcher at The Green Howards Museum

Sarah Booth, from the Donkey Breed Society Northern Region, explained: "Donkeys are stoic creatures - we never hear them complain.

"They've been used - and misused - throughout history.

"We want to raise the very important message of the part that donkeys, as well as other equines, and dogs, cats, pigeons and rats, have played in warzones throughout history."

Mr Erskine added: "The exhibition has proved to be popular - to do something a little bit different, to appeal to a slightly different audience from the normal audience of a military museum.

"We want to stress the army isn't just about fighting - we're using these animals to get humanitarian aid into earthquake zones, to get medicines into hard-to-reach villages in the mountains."

Three brown, long-haired donkeys are pictured eating hay outside a historic stone building.
Visitors to the exhibition can learn about the role of donkeys in military history

Tom, Maurice and Teddy are therapy donkeys, part of a wider group of seven donkeys that are available to hire for educational events, care home visits, and even television work.

Owner Marie Bates said: "The nature of the donkeys - how they are around people - just makes them amazing animals. They're so calming."

But when not providing a calming influence, they love playing football and have their own unique personality quirks - according to Ms Bates.

"Teddy, particularly, is a little cheeky chap. His favourite treat is ginger biscuits, and I'm sure he'll have a couple of those before he goes home at the end of the day!"

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