Prince was an ex army-horse, wounded in the First World War. He was on active service in a Royal Artillery gun battery when he got hit in the leg by a piece of shrapnel. No surgery was available, of course, so it remained there for the rest of his life. Although it affected his stride, he was still able to hold down a tough job as a logger and wagoner. I don’t know anything about Flower before she came to the foundry, only that she worked, shoulder to shoulder, with Prince for many years
As I mentioned in my letter, their driver was a man called Will May. He barely stood 15hh but those two thought the world of him and took the greatest of care to see that no harm befell the little chap. People were astonished at the way those horses would work on steeply sloping ground, drawing logs through a maze of standing trees, with Will using nothing but gentle words spoken in a language that none of them understood. Flower told my granddam that she and Prince were sure he would hurt himself one day on those hillsides - what with only having two spindly legs!
Those weren't the only times they had to look after him. Prince would tell the story of how Will was in the habit of stop stopping off at the Exeter Arms in Okehampton when they were on their way back with coal from the railway station. They knew his step and would start to pull away soon as he left the bar. Sometimes other men tried to get them to walk off by imitating his way of going, but they were never fooled. They knew he needed them to make sure he got home safely, and so they just smiled at the tricksters and waited until they could hear Will coming.
shoulder to shoulder, with Prince for many years 
