Loyal creatures inspired Morris Gleitzman

Michael Morpurgo, the author of the book War Horse, on which the stage version, and the subsequent Steven Spielberg film is based, suggested children’s author Morris Gleitzman, who had written a series of books about children in World War II, set against the Holocaust, and Gleitzman jumped at the chance.

He became so fascinated by the story behind War Horse, by the relationships between man and animal, by the animals themselves, that now, two years down the track, he has developed that initial 20-minute monologue into a book of his own, called Loyal Creatures.

It’s the story of 16-year-old Frank Ballantyne, who, like so many of his young mates, dreams of grand adventure and volunteers for the Australian Light Horse with his horse Daisy, the pair find themselves in Egypt, Gallipoli and Beersheeba, their story unfolding as World War I changes the life of so many young men.

Australia sent about 150,000 horses to World War I, mostly to Egypt and Palestine with the Australian Light Horse. Only one of those horses came back to Australia. Gleitzman wanted to tell that tragic story, of the loyal creatures, man and animal who served, and how they connected.

“I was initially interested in the notion of how important, in a tough situation like a war, a relationship with an animal can be for a person,” Gleitzman says.

“We know how that can be with pets but it gives it an extra dimension when lives are at stake … I read in memoirs and letters from service people in that war how special those relationships were.

“A lot of those blokes, many of them quite young, volunteered and took their own horses with them. So even though it was an adventure and the only opportunity that most of them would have to go across the world and see far away places, they were a long way from home and their horses became their only tangible connection to home.”

To better understand the relationship, Gleitzman did extensive research, accessing the files of the Australian War Memorial, but also spending time with men such as David “Buffalo” O’Brien, a horseman from Dundurrabin in the northern tablelands of NSW, a man who catches and trains wild brumbies.

“To be able to work with David, to get up close and get a sense of the physicality of horses, was an unexpected bonus. To be able to see what goes on between a man like him and the horses he cares so much about was very useful when it came to writing about Frank and Daisy.”

Gleitzman said it also proved useful first writing the story as a performance piece.

“I know the voice that comes through in the book wouldn’t be exactly as it is if I hadn’t first written that story for an actor’s voice,” he says.

“I always think it’s important that in a first-person book that the character’s voice, their speech rhythms, the language they use, is the most important part of us understanding what’s happening inside them, getting a sense of who they are.”

Gleitzman, one of Australia’s most acclaimed children’s authors, hopes that both children and adults alike will connect with Loyal Creatures. He believes it’s important to tell stories from our nation’s history, particularly ones that children may engage with.

“You and I know exactly why history is important, in human terms. But for young people to share that experience, if we can tell stories about people, their feelings, their hopes, their dreams, their problems, their attempts to survive, every young person, like all of us, connects with human drama on that level. If it happens in a context that can be called history then that’s a great thing.

“With my series of World War II books kids often asked me why the first sentence in each chapter was in the past tense and then the rest of the chapter was in the present tense.

“I did that to remind readers that while at first glance, history might look like, as someone once famously said, another country … their lives are just like ours.”

Loyal Creatures, by Morris Gleitzman. (Viking, $19.99.)