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Bill the Bastard was a real hero

26 March 2023 9:02 pm

Bill the Bastard rescuing soldiers

Last year my book club decided to do different things on alternate months—a book one month and an outing the next. Our first outing was to Jugiong for lunch at the Long Track Pantry and a stop at the twin towns of Harden/Murrumburrah on the way back.

First off, I’m super fussy about reuben sandwiches and the Long Track Pantry served up one of the best ones I’ve ever had. But the stop at Harden was equally rewarding.

That’s where we saw the statue of Bill the Bastard—an amazing and clever horse from World War I. His fame stemmed from a fearless rescue during the Battle of Romani in Egypt in August 1916.

The billboard in Harden says Bill had the heart and lungs of an elephant. It goes on the say:

‘He had the power, intelligence and unmatched courage that stood above all the 200,000 Australian horses sent to the middle east in The Great War. He was a big 17.1 hh with a long back and big rump. Chestnut in colour; and a Waler—named after New South Wales. The first person who tried to ride him was a young lad called Ben Towers—a questionable 17 years of age. He came from Cootamundra. Young Ben claimed to be a capable rider—but Bill had other ideas.

‘After several attempts it seemed that Bill would allow only one person to ride him—Major Michael Shanahan.

Bill the Bastard rescuing soldiers

‘Shanahan managed to persuade his Captain “Banjo Patterson” to take Bill into battle. He felt sure that Bill would be the ideal horse for the job. In the thick of The Battle of Romani, with four soldiers down, Shanahan rode Bill under heavy Turkish fire and with super strength, got the four soldiers on—making it five in total on Bill—and returned them to safety.

‘After Bill had a big drink, Shanahan said to the horse, “It’s time to get back, Bill, you’re a bloody marvel!” and so they rode back into the thick of raging war.

‘It was soon after that Shanahan was shot in the thigh and Bill was shot twice. Still they continued to fight until Shanahan collapsed into the saddle. Bill was aware of the seriousness of the situation and took Shanahan three kilometres through the fighting, straight to the vet.’

I love the fact that Bill knew to go straight to the vet. Shanahan was soon taken to the medic. Sadly, he lost his leg, but he and Bill both became heroes.

Bill the Bastard rescuing soldiers

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Posted by leggypeggy

Categories: Australia, New South Wales

Tags: , ,

75 Responses to “Bill the Bastard was a real hero”

  1. I saw this statue when I was in Oz a few years back, its one impressive statue, So are all the rest down the Avenue
    Parking is a bugger, but it seems the police dont mind if you nip out of the car for quick pictures
    Its really worth driving down there

    Liked by 1 person

    By Derrick Brown on 26 March 2023 at 9:06 pm

    1. Great that you have been there. I’m so glad we stopped there too. I hadn’t heard of Bill before.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 26 March 2023 at 9:11 pm

      1. We saw this when we stayed at your house, we drove down there, stopped and started, as usual took far to many photos
        I think there was a book or film about ‘Bill’

        Liked by 1 person

        By Derrick Brown on 26 March 2023 at 9:13 pm

      2. We should look up whether a film was made. You go first. I have to do dishes

        Liked by 1 person

        By leggypeggy on 26 March 2023 at 9:22 pm

  2. Hi Peggy
    What a hero.
    All the best and thanks for sharing
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

    By Klausbernd on 26 March 2023 at 9:43 pm

    1. Agreed, Bill was an amazing hero.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 26 March 2023 at 9:49 pm

  3. Great post! Interestingly, you’re the second Aussie blogger I follow that wrote about Bill the Bastard. Gotta agree, despite Bill’s moniker — the horse is no bastard, but a hero alongside the likes of El Cid’s Babieca.

    Liked by 2 people

    By Monch Weller on 26 March 2023 at 10:31 pm

    1. Bill really was a hero, but his moniker had to do with the fact that he tossed off every rider but Shanahan.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 8:55 am

  4. What an amazing story! The statue is pretty cool too!

    Liked by 1 person

    By Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen on 26 March 2023 at 10:50 pm

    1. Statues of horses are hard to get right.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 8:56 am

  5. Fun fun fun.. So happy to see you writing! S T

    Sent from my iPad

    >

    Liked by 1 person

    By Sherry Thomas on 27 March 2023 at 12:38 am

    1. Next time you’re here we’ll have to visit Bill.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 8:57 am

  6. That statue is amazing and it’s such a great story. I love that Bill went straight to the vet!

    Liked by 2 people

    By Lynette d'Arty-Cross on 27 March 2023 at 1:13 am

    1. I love that bit too.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 8:58 am

  7. What a great story, but it would be nice if they dropped The Bastard from Bill’s name. It seems like he’s actually not one 😊😊 Maggie

    Liked by 2 people

    By Monkey's Tale on 27 March 2023 at 1:25 am

    1. I suspect Bill rather liked the bastard bit.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 8:58 am

      1. 🤣🤣

        Liked by 1 person

        By Monkey's Tale on 27 March 2023 at 9:04 am

  8. A great tribute to a brave war horse, Peggy. Such an unusual true story.
    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    By beetleypete on 27 March 2023 at 1:26 am

    1. It’s wonderful when these stories get shared.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 8:59 am

  9. Wonderful to see you here again Peggy. Love this story Xxx.

    Liked by 1 person

    By lexbartlem on 27 March 2023 at 2:17 am

    1. Come to Canberra and we’ll go see Bill. Hint, hint!

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 9:00 am

      1. I’d love to see Bill with you, but would love to see you a lot more than Bill! xx

        Liked by 1 person

        By lexbartlem on 27 March 2023 at 9:02 am

      2. Always welcome.

        Like

        By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 9:12 am

  10. Love the statue and story. What a feisty hero he was.

    Liked by 1 person

    By Jolandi Steven on 27 March 2023 at 3:43 am

    1. Feisty is right—and clever!

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 9:04 am

  11. We owe a debt of gratitude to the amazing creatures who share our world. Thank you, Peggy, for introducing me to Bill the Bastard. A great way to start my week.

    Liked by 1 person

    By Rebecca Budd on 27 March 2023 at 7:17 am

    1. An excellent point Rebecca. We do owe a great debt of gratitude to the creatures of this world.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 9:05 am

  12. Wow that’s a good story, I can’t believe Hollywood hasn’t used that in a movie yet. Deciding to take the wounded rider to the vet shows he had brains and not just brawn

    Liked by 1 person

    By Robert Parker on 27 March 2023 at 8:32 am

    1. It’s a good reminder that animals are smart.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 9:06 am

      1. yep!

        Liked by 1 person

        By Robert Parker on 27 March 2023 at 9:11 am

  13. What a great story! Love our Aussie heroes, be it animal or human!

    Liked by 1 person

    By Anna on 27 March 2023 at 10:05 am

    1. So true.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 10:47 am

  14. Peggy.

    Great to read another story. Certainly an interesting one. You certainly find all different ones. Thanks. Carol

    Liked by 1 person

    By Carol Taloni on 27 March 2023 at 2:09 pm

    1. Great to hear from you Carol.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 2:45 pm

  15. Good to see this well written reminder of a story I have seen before

    Liked by 1 person

    By derrickjknight on 27 March 2023 at 9:55 pm

    1. Thanks Derrick. Nice to know Bill has had more exposure.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 27 March 2023 at 10:10 pm

  16. What a fascinating tale, Peggy! So many animals participate in war from horses in the past to landmine sniffing dogs today.

    Liked by 1 person

    By chattykerry on 28 March 2023 at 6:53 am

    1. Great point, Kerry. There are even mine-sniffing rats and bees.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 28 March 2023 at 7:05 am

      1. I did not know that rats and bees were involved, too!

        Liked by 1 person

        By chattykerry on 28 March 2023 at 7:19 am

  17. Thanks for sharing this idea . This Statue caught Mt attention. I found your site and let’s follow each other. Anita

    Liked by 1 person

    By 100 Country Trek on 28 March 2023 at 8:17 am

    1. Sounds like a plan.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 28 March 2023 at 8:43 am

      1. Thanks so much 💓

        Liked by 1 person

        By 100 Country Trek on 28 March 2023 at 9:18 am

  18. What an interesting story.

    Liked by 1 person

    By gerard oosterman on 28 March 2023 at 9:31 am

    1. It’s worth a trip to Harden to see Bill.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 28 March 2023 at 11:52 am

  19. I’ve heard of walers – my niece is a horse podiatrist – but not the rest of the story. Sounds like a great day out – a good Reuben and a heroic horse – what more could you want.
    Alison

    Liked by 1 person

    By Alison and Don on 29 March 2023 at 7:40 am

    1. It was a wonderful outing. Monday on the radio they asked people to call/text in with names of professions that started with H. Wish I’d known about horse podiatrists.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 29 March 2023 at 8:27 am

  20. That is an amazing story!

    Liked by 1 person

    By Lesley Snow on 1 April 2023 at 2:25 am

    1. I thought so too. Had to share.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 1 April 2023 at 8:43 am

  21. I thought Bill the Bastard was going to be a human until I read your text. I looked at the statue and thought “Its the horse that’s the hero”. Turns out I was right. Great Aussie name!

    Liked by 1 person

    By Emma Cownie on 3 April 2023 at 5:21 pm

    1. Australians have a lot of fun giving descriptive names to all sorts of things.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 3 April 2023 at 7:53 pm

      1. Wonderfully blunt!

        Liked by 1 person

        By Emma Cownie on 4 April 2023 at 3:45 am

  22. I’ve heard horse lovers make all sorts of claims about their favorite equine, but it’s hard to top that story. Did you see the movie War Horse? It wasn’t Bill, but still a good flick.

    And now I wonder, as you’re a connoisseur of reubens (probably my favorite sandwich), what constitutes the perfect one?

    Liked by 1 person

    By Dave Ply on 5 April 2023 at 1:27 am

    1. I didn’t see War Horse. Pity. As for the perfect reuben, all I can say is you know it when you first bite into it. My favourite sandwich too.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 5 April 2023 at 6:59 am

  23. Fascinating!

    Liked by 1 person

    By Latitude Adjustment: A Tale of Two Wanderers on 9 April 2023 at 8:18 am

    1. He was some horse.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 9 April 2023 at 11:11 am

  24. It is a rarity for a horse to be named in a monumental statue, almost as rare as a war hero who lived to tell the tale.

    Liked by 1 person

    By MichaelStephenWills on 11 April 2023 at 11:29 pm

    1. Excellent point. I was delighted to share the story.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 12 April 2023 at 9:51 am

  25. What a lovely n great story.
    Thanks for sharing ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    By Enoble Asuquo on 25 April 2023 at 4:22 pm

    1. My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 25 April 2023 at 5:16 pm

      1. You are most welcome ❤️

        Liked by 1 person

        By Enoble Asuquo on 25 April 2023 at 5:41 pm

  26. Oh hey Peggy. WordPress just pushed this through to me. I wrote about Bill the Bastard last month too! Isn’t that funny? Didn’t get the kind of response you have though.Sighhhh.

    Liked by 1 person

    By Garrulous Gwendoline on 25 April 2023 at 10:54 pm

    1. I think putting bastard in the title made all the difference.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 26 April 2023 at 7:14 am

      1. I think you’re on the money there!

        Liked by 1 person

        By Garrulous Gwendoline on 26 April 2023 at 2:32 pm

  27. Hello,
    >>Shanahan rode Bill under heavy Turkish fire and with super strength, got the four soldiers on—making it five in total on Bill—and returned them to safety.<<
    An amazing horse and story!

    Reuben Sandwiches are great, one of my tasty favorites! The diners in my area make it as an "Open Sandwich"! Aside: A diner is a small, inexpensive restaurant found across the United States, as well as in Canada and parts of Western Europe.

    Liked by 1 person

    By Sy on 30 April 2023 at 7:28 am

    1. I knew you’d love reubens. Maybe someday we can meet for one at a New York diner.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 30 April 2023 at 9:59 am

  28. What a wonderful story about Bill. Many people aren’t aware of what the amazing role horses played in WWI. Sadly, most were put to death at the end of the war. I believe Bill was lucky enough to escape that fate. On that bleak note, it’s great to see a blog post from you!

    Liked by 1 person

    By Brenda on 30 April 2023 at 10:11 pm

    1. Thanks Brenda. It’s about time I got to posting again.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 1 May 2023 at 7:30 am

  29. What a name to claim.😵‍💫

    Liked by 1 person

    By Americaoncoffee on 30 May 2023 at 6:22 pm

    1. He earned it in the most heroic way.

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 30 May 2023 at 6:58 pm

  30. Thank you for your comment on my latest post, Peggy.

    Liked by 1 person

    By chattykerry on 13 June 2023 at 1:28 am

    1. My pleasure, Kerry.

      Liked by 1 person

      By leggypeggy on 13 June 2023 at 4:44 pm

      1. 💗

        Like

        By chattykerry on 13 June 2023 at 11:53 pm

  31. […] The National Portrait Gallery is a popular one, and it’s not far from our home. I visited recently as a cultural outing for book club (check out our club’s visit to Bill the Bastard). […]

    Like

    By A portrait artist of the future | Where to next? on 17 June 2023 at 8:20 pm

  32. That is very interesting, I did not know that. A hero for sure…
    Thanks for sharing

    Liked by 1 person

    By Miriam Costa on 21 July 2023 at 5:25 am

    1. Yes, definitely a hero!

      Like

      By leggypeggy on 21 July 2023 at 9:23 am

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