A ROYAL is saddling up for the unveiling of a Hampshire tribute to horses that died on the battlefield in the Great War.

The Princess Royal will officially unveil a life-size bronze resin statue of horse and trooper in Romsey War Memorial Park in July.

It will conclude the town's £86,000 project to commemorate the horses and mules that were trained at Romsey Remount Depot at Pauncefoot Hill before being sent into battle.

Daily Echo: Sketch of how the war horse statue will look.

Sculptor Amy Goodman, who is based at Quarley near Andover, has been working on the memorial for a more than a year and it has now been completed.

Last week four horseshoes and a Great War soldier's cap badge were buried in the park when the statue's foundations were laid.

Daily Echo: Matthew Barry (front) and members of the War Horse committee with 4 horse shoes from the Western Front of the Great War to be buried at the base of Romsey's tribute to horses trained for battle

Chairman of Romsey War Horse committee Mrs Dorothy Baverstock said the project was galloping along towards the finish line and she was now looking forward to the unveiling.

“We are absolutely delighted the Princess Royal is coming to unveil the war horse memorial. We thought it would be good to remember all the horses that went into battle.

"Two terracotta war horses made at King John's House and four horseshoes were put in the base of the memorial.

"Two of the horseshoes came from the battlefield and the others were given to us by Romsey and District Society.

"The statue will be installed a couple of days before the unveiling.

"The project has been going for three years and we have raised £86,000 for it and this includes the upkeep of the memorial,” said Mrs Baverstock who will be Romsey's mayor when the Princess Royal visits the town on July 3 to unveil the statue.

There will be a celebratory parade through the streets during the royal visit and unveiling ceremony.

Dozens of fundraisers have been held to help bring in cash to pay for the monument. This included talks, coffee morning and exhibitions.

Nearly 120,000 horses and mules from Romsey Remount Depot at Ranvilles Farm were shipped across the English Channel and forwarded onto the front line where many met a terrible end.

Romsey War Horse Committee say there will be limit space at the unveiling ceremony and the public is being invited to apply for a ticket.

Anyone interested in a ticket is asked to send their name, address and telephone number to the town clerk Judith Giles.

Her address is Romsey Town, 1 Market Place, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 8YZ.

Applicants should put their details in an envelope marked “application for tickets to the War Horse unveiling” which will be put into a draw and successful applicants will be notified by June 12. The closing date for applications is Friday May 29.

There will be a limited number of disabled parking spaces available and ticket applicants are asked to write 'disabled' on the outside of their envelopes.