Tribute to brave IRA bomb horses
Two of the horses involved in the IRA bomb blast in London’s Hyde Park have been honoured in a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the attack
Yeti and Echo, two of the horses involved in the 1982 IRA nail bomb blast at London’s Rotten Row were honoured at a ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the attack.
Echo, 31, a Metropolitan Police Horse was part of a mounted escort accompanying the Blues and Royals on route to the Changing of the Guard. Yeti, now aged 34, was a Household Cavalry horse.
Seven horses and four soldiers were killed when a nail bomb, planted by the IRA, exploded on 21 July 1982 in Hyde Park.
The horses were unable to travel to London so the ceremony was held at The Home of Rest for Horses, near Princes Risborough, Bucks, where the pair has spent their retirement.
Two troopers from the Blues and Royals and a police sergeant attended theevent, which a Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed: “would probably be the last.”
A public thank you
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The occasion was a public “thank you” to the all the horses involved in the incident, of which Yeti and Echo are the last surviving two.
Echo suffered horrific injuries in the attack, his jugular vein was severed, his eye torn open and his belly was ripped apart by shrapnel. Although he made an astonishing recovery Echo never returned to work again and retired to the home in 1983.
Yetti, who did not suffer any physical or physiological damage, returned to full work for a further four years before joining Echo in retirement in 1986.
Chief executive of the Home of Rest for Horses, Brigadier Paul Jepson said: “They seem to have forgotten the attack and are both very happy and enjoying a good quality of life.”
Visitors are welcome at the centre, which is open seven days a weekfrom 2 – 4pm.
For more information visit www.homeofrestforhorses.co.uk
Read other stories about IRA victims:
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