Polly Hopkins was the personal horse of Lieutenant Colonel Frank Pretty before the Great War when he was serving as a major in the 4th Territorial Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. Before the conflict, life for Polly would have been peaceful with trips around the countryside only being made a little more hazardous by the start of the hunting season with which the Franks family were strongly connected. His father was master of the Essex and Suffolk Hunt 1912-1918. The family business was William Pretty and Sons, corset makers of Ipswich, with Frank being a director. Their main factory still stands in the town today and camouflage on the roof from World War II can still be seen. The family lived in an affluent part of the town and things must have seemed perfect for them as Frank’s grandfather had started the business in 1820 and it was doing well.

He and his father both served in the local Suffolk Regiment, indeed his father had joined the Volunteer Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment (so called before the start of the Territorial Battalions in 1908) as early as 1865 and they sometimes trained in the grounds of the family house. Frank was born in 1878 and was a keen young sportsman before following his father in taking up a commision in the Volunteer Battalion in 1900 and later the 4th Territorial Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment. The Territorial Battalions backed up Britain’s relatively small peacetime army and were mostly intended to defend Britain in the event of war whilst the regulars would be sent overseas. However, with Germany in particular flexing its Empire building muscles, it started to become apparent that the Territorials might be very useful in the event of a war. All serving members were asked after the start of war if they were prepared to sign an “Imperial Service” obligation notice to serve overseas if their country needed them. Many did. The 4th Territorial Battalion were well trained and therefore had the slightly dubious honour of being considered ready for war before many other Territorial Battalions.

Britain and her Empire. The world was quite peaceful, Britain had a huge navy, plus troops and colonial police stationed all round the globe, looking after its interests  and keeping the peace. It was for many in the upper classes a time to be proud of British achievements. Then came the clouds of war in the hot summer of 1914 and the  territorial Battalions were mobilised to get on to a war footing. Surely they would not be required? We had a fine regular army and allies in France, Belgium and Russia amongst others, plus a huge Empire to call on, many of whom had small armies of their own. Maybe it would be all over by Christmas anyway. But, as we now know, WW1 was a war the like of which it was impossible to imagine, with millions of men and horses facing terrible dangers almost from its first days.

The heavy casualties in the opening battles of 1914 soon exhausted the supply of regular troops available. Kitchener’s call for 100,000 men would not bring trained men for sometime, although the volunteers came forward, a million of them. However they simply could not train and equip them soon enough.

Frank’s battalion had by pure chance been at annual camp on 31st July 1914 at Great Yarmouth for field training. News of the outbreak of war between Austria and Serbia must still have seemed a long way away.

Don’t stop reading the story of Polly Hopkins. Pick up the February issue of Suffolk Norfolk Life in store and online.