Ford o' Kabul River - British Poem

Poem by Rudyard Kipling.

During the second Anglo Afghan War on 31 March 1879, disaster befell a squadron of 10th Hussars attempting to cross the Kabul River. Swept away by rapids, weighted down by their cloaks and equipment, 46 men were drowned or kicked to death by frantic horses. The tragedy (no doubt because it was an accident, not a battle) caused deep shock at home and evidently made its mark on the 13 year old Kipling. His poem Ford o’ Kabul River was first published in the National Observer on 22 November 1890, then in 1982 in his book Barrack Room Ballads and Other Verses, and later in other collections (see The Kipling Society).

Performed by Dave Webber & Anni Fentiman.

The illustration is of men of the 10th Hussars drowning - Kabul River, 1879 by Illustrated London News.