11/26/2025
A lovely heart-felt story about NB's only tank regiment - the Princess Louise 8th Canadian Hussars - "adopting" a wounded horse while fighting in Italy, taking her with them when they left Italy (against orders) through France, Belgium and the Netherlands where she helped with the war effort. And then at the end of WWII (again, against orders) bringing her to Canada with them, refusing to leave her behind. "Princess Louise", their beloved horse, retired in Hampton and lived until 1973, receiving a military funeral with full honours. Today she rests beside the Hampton cenotaph. ❤️
The photo is of the 8th Canadian Hussars marching in a parade in Saint John at the end of the war, with Princess Louise leading the way.
🇨🇦🐴 In 1944, New Brunswick’s only tank regiment — the 8th Hussars — was fighting its way up Italy’s fearsome Gothic Line when they stumbled across something unexpected. A horse.
The Hussars had once been a cavalry unit, and their commander, Lt.-Col. Bob Ross admitted they were “still horsemen at heart,” even if they now drove tanks. But on this night, their attack went sideways. Their tanks were knocked out, and the men scrambled back toward Canadian lines under fire.
Then they heard a terrible scream.
A volunteer crawled off to investigate, thinking it was a wounded Canadian. He came back pale and announced, “Boys … It’s a little horse hit by a hunk of shell.”
Even in the chaos of the Gothic Line, Ross said the sight “tore the hardened hearts of ex-cavalrymen virtually to shreds.”
The men immediately begged permission to rescue “the poor little thing,” and although the official answer was no, Ross admitted that was “all window dressing.” Moments later, the c**t was on her way to Canadian lines.
They brought the wounded c**t to Dr. Tom Dalrymple. He insisted he was no horse doctor but patched her up anyway.
The regiment named her Princess Louise, after their formal title: The Princess Louise 8th Canadian Hussars.
She accompanied them as they fought their way up Italy.
Then came a new problem: the Canadians were leaving Italy to help liberate Belgium and the Netherlands … and animals were absolutely forbidden from being transported.
The Hussars disagreed.
“They made up their minds,” recalled soldier Thad Stevens. They hid Princess Louise inside a truck packed with machine-gun boxes, smuggling her from Italy to France, then to Belgium — where she proudly marched in the victory parade. Ross beamed: she stood “with her customary poise and smartness.”
She even helped during the liberation of the Netherlands, carrying supplies through deep mud. One Dutch village became so fond of her that locals simply called her “our horse.”
When the war ended, bringing her home to Canada was also forbidden … so naturally, the Hussars brought her home to Canada. (One officer promised he’d swim beside her on a raft if necessary.)
Princess Louise arrived in Saint John to a full military parade [pictured], trotting at its head “as steady as any soldier.” She settled in Hampton, where in 1946 the town held a ceremony officially proclaiming her a Canadian citizen and “a free-woman of the village.”
Princess Louise lived a long, peaceful life, passing away in 1973. She received a military funeral with full honours and today rests beside the Hampton cenotaph — a New Brunswick warhorse remembered for being loved enough to be smuggled across two countries and one ocean by Canadian soldiers who refused to leave her behind.
📕 The full story appears in the book ‘Backyard History: Forgotten Stories From Atlantic Canada’s Past Volume Two,’ which you can get at backyardhistory.ca/books This week only there’s a sale — buy four books get free shipping!
🎙 Hear Princess Louise’s full tale on the full story on the Backyard History Podcast: https://shorturl.at/MD2ik
📰 Find the Long Read article (with lots of photos) here: https://backyardhistory.ca/f/hooves-heroes-princess-louise-a-war-horses-tale
