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Horace Iles

Horace Iles was 14 when a stranger presented him with a white feather whilst travelling on a tram. His subsequent decision to enlist ultimately had tragic consequences.

A short film about the tragic consequences receiving a white feather had on a young boy. In the early years of the war, it was not unusual for women to present young men with a white feather as a suggestion they were too cowardly to volunteer for service. Horace Iles was travelling on a tram in Leeds one day when a stranger presented him with a white feather, even though he was only 14 years old. He subsequently gave up his apprenticeship with a blacksmith鈥檚 and enlisted in the army. After 18 months of training, he was posted to the Somme, a quiet region in France which was about to become the focus for the biggest offensive of the war. Horace鈥檚 sister was desperate with concern for her brother, and wrote a letter begging him to admit his age and return home. The letter was returned to her unopened, with a stamp indicating the recipient had been killed in action: Horace had been one of the 19000 fatalities on the first day of the Somme, the bloodiest day in the history of the British army.

Release date:

Duration:

5 minutes

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