Branding iron, 1913

Made by T Johnson and Company.

This iron was used by Dr Reginald Hill of the Army Remount Service to brand horses with the broad arrow on the left hind quarter. This marked them as Government property.

The Army Remount Service was established in 1887 to formalise and centralise the acquisition and training of horses and mules en masse for the British Army. The Boer War (1899-1902) and World War One (1914-1918) led to the exponential growth of the service. Mechanisation in the 1930s led to a reduction in demand and the Remount Service was eventually amalgamated into the Army Veterinary and Remount Service in 1942.