THE role of the noble nag during the Great War and in the coal mines has been celebrated in a new book by the Cardenden and District Local History Group.

‘The Working Horse’ was launched at an event in the Corrie Centre last week which was attended by Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Jayne Baxter.

The history group’s Dougie Reid explained, “We’ve done publications in the past on coal mining in this area and the work that human beings did but it struck us that without the horse the coal wouldn’t have got out of the ground, made it to Kirkcaldy or got on the ships.

“We discovered there are very few publications about the working horse, as we called it, and when we looked into it we found they weren’t thoroughbreds or pedigree horses, they were born and bred on the farm and used for all sorts of different things.

“Moving the coal was one of them but 100 years ago during World War One there were a tremendous amount of horses used, initially, to transport materials and armaments in conflicts in all parts of the world.

“The horse population of that time in Britain was devastated as they were taken by the armed forces. There is a memorial in London, which is mentioned in the book, but in addition to the poor lads that lost their lives, there was also a vast amount of horses involved too.

“That’s the foundation of the book.” He continued, “We wrote the history of the working horse, from evolution right up to date. The period of 1914-18 actually accelerated the development of the internal combustion engine. Before the war carters and hauliers used horses but with the animals used for the war, they got used to the new engines instead.

“That really marked the demise of the working horse as engines were much more consistent.” There has been a print run of 250 copies of the book which are now on sale for £7.50 each.

Dougie said, “We’re in the process of getting them sold and we’re not making a profit.

“We’re going to give a copy to every library and round the schools so they can benefit.

“Jayne Baxter helped launch the book and she’s taken some copies to her colleagues in the Scottish Parliament – we’re hopeful to get in the bookshop there too!” The group will be selling copies of the book at the Cardenden Fair in August but if you can’t wait that long, either visit the website at www.cardendenlocalhistorygroup.org.uk or contact the local history group, who meet at the Corrie Centre every Tuesday from 7 to 9pm.

They have previously published another book,‘Cardenden Then and Now’, which covers the rich history of the Auchterderran area.