Royal Scots Greys Memorial, Edinburgh: A Soldier and His Horse
- May 1
- 3 min read
Updated: May 7
Walk through the western end of Princes Street Gardens, and you’ll see a striking bronze statue: a soldier in uniform, sitting tall on a powerful horse, staring into the distance. It’s easy to pass by without a second glance. But stop for a moment and look closer.
This is the Royal Scots Greys Memorial, unveiled in 1906 to honour the soldiers of one of Scotland’s most famous cavalry regiments. The man cast in bronze is Sergeant-Major Anthony James Hinnigan and the horse beneath him is Polly — a real horse, who went to war with him.
They were chosen as the model for this monument not because of rank or fame, but because they represented something deeper: the thousands of ordinary men — and animals — who followed orders, risked everything and came home changed forever.
The statue commemorates those who died in the Second Boer War (1899–1902), a brutal conflict fought in South Africa. On paper, it was about politics and empire. But at its heart, it was a war for gold and diamonds — the vast mineral wealth of the region, which Britain wanted to control.
The Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers, were fiercely independent and had no intention of giving up their land. When war broke out, young men from across Britain — including Scotland — were sent thousands of miles away to fight in a place they knew nothing about.
The Royal Scots Greys were a cavalry regiment. That meant fighting on horseback — often in open country, with sabres drawn, charging directly into enemy fire. Imagine it. Dust in your mouth. Your horse thundering beneath you. The whistle of bullets flying past your ears. And you keep riding forward, because that’s what you’ve been ordered to do.
It’s easy to romanticise. But it was terrifying. Soldiers had to look into the eyes of men shooting at them and keep going. And they did it not for personal gain, but because they believed it was their duty — to their country, to their regiment, to each other.
One of the worst moments came at Silkaatsnek in July 1900. The Royal Scots Greys were ambushed. Twenty-four were killed, forty-four wounded, and nearly two hundred taken prisoner. Many never came home.
Anthony James Hinnigan was just sixteen when he joined the army. He served for nearly 30 years, including in South Africa. Polly, his horse, was with him in the war — trusted, brave, and steady under fire.
After the war, Hinnigan returned to Scotland and became a pub landlord. He lived until 1942, passing away at the age of 76.
Most war horses never came home. They were left behind, sold or destroyed, unable to make the long journey back. But Polly did. She was one of the rare few who returned — a quiet, living witness to all she had seen. In 1904, she and Hinnigan were chosen to represent their regiment in bronze. Not a general on a pedestal but a soldier and his horse — two veterans, bound by loyalty, fear, and survival.
Today, Polly stands immortalised, cast in bronze beside the man who trusted her with his life. She became more than a horse — she became a symbol of courage, endurance, and the unspoken bond between soldier and steed.
Hinnigan would have seen it — this statue of himself and the horse who carried him through war. A rare honour, witnessed in his own lifetime.
The statue remains — a quiet monument to courage, loss and the strange, sad loyalty of war.
We walk by memorials like this every day — but they were built by people who wanted the world to remember. Not just the names. But the reality. This is a statue of a man who once held the reins with shaking hands. Of a horse that galloped into the noise of gunfire. Of a war that, like many, was fought for power and wealth, far from home.
The least we can do is stop for a moment — and remember them.
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Image © Ian Capper, licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.
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