May 17th 2015: Household Cavalry

[DanaC]

In the first half of the 19th century, when the military began recording and collating detailed mortality reports (similar developments went on in the civil sphere) analyses of those figures showed some startling results. It had always been assumed that the 'healthy warrior' effect would lead to lower mortality rates among soldiers during peacetime than among civilians. Instead they found that even in peacetime soldiers had a much higher mortality rate - one of the reasons for that turned out to be a much higher propensity for suicide.

Later analyses showed great variance between different parts of the service. The highest rates of suicide were amongst the line regiments and Indian regiments and the highest of all were the cavalry regiments in India.

Lowest rates? The Household Cavalry.

[limey]

[/militaryhistorynerd]


Sent by thought transference

[Snakeadelic]

Hey, now there's a fantastic movie idea: a gritty reboot of Miracle of the White Stallions! There was a similar incident, I believe in WWI, involving the Trakehner breed...something like 900 horses herded hundreds of kilometers to get them out of the path of the hungry Russian armed forces (sound familiar?).

[Diaphone Jim]

A very good IOTD! Sure came and went fast, but it seems the best ones tend to do so.

[xoxoxoBruce]

They don't go anywhere.