IT is a worldwide theatre phenomenon borne out of a moving children’s story about a horse called Joey.

Now War Horse has returned to the North West as the country — and the world — prepares to commemorate 100 years since the outbreak of World War One.

The play’s talented cast, including David Fleeshman who was last seen at Bolton’s Octagon Theatre playing Candy in Of Mice and Men, is back on stage at The Lowry, Salford Quays, bringing Michael Morpurgo’s touching tale to life until September 20.

The Leeds-born actor said: “It’s very poignant.

“As a historical document, it’s amazing.

“It tells the story of the First World War in personals terms, in the story of the horse.

“Michael Morpurgo tells some amazing stories. This little book that he wrote some 30 years ago was not a huge success.

“When a director approached him and said we are thinking of doing a stage version, he thought they were mad.”

With visions of a pantomime horse, he could not imagine how the impressive puppetry — created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company — would bring galloping, full-scale horses to life on stage.

David, who appeared in the world premiere of Bill Naughton’s Lighthearted Intercourse at the Octagon in 2012, said: “He didn’t understand what they were talking about.

“Why would anybody want to make a stage version of this but, of course, the rest is history.”

It was on October 9, 2007, that the stage adaptation was premiered at London’s National Theatre and the show has since been seen by more than five million people worldwide.

David, who plays Arthur Narracott, said: “It’s great to be part of such a worldwide phenomenon. That does give a great lift doing it eight times a week, for 18 months.

“Ninety-nine out of 100 times, you get a standing ovation. That is quite an incredible thing you don’t get very often.”

More than 114,000 tickets were sold for War Horse’s initial run at The Lowry, last November to January, and it returned to the venue last night meaning David is enjoying another stint closer to his Cheshire home.

David, who is married to actress Sue Jenkins and has three children including actor Richard Fleeshman, said: “For 30 years, I had not worked for the National Theatre. While the kids were growing up, I didn’t want to be away from home.

He said: “It was 30 years since I had first been approached. This was the first time I thought, do you know what, I can do this.”

Following its stint at The Lowry, David is set to move to other venues in places including Ireland and then 11 weeks in South Africa later this year where he hopes wife Sue, who played Jackie Corkhill in Channel 4 soap opera Brookside, will be joining him.

He said: “We’ll be over in Cape Town, over Christmas and New Year.

“It will be a totally different Christmas, most probably ending up having a BBQ on the beach. It’s really exciting.”

The War Horse tour will keep David busy until February 2015, after which he hopes to return to Bolton to be reunited with the Octagon’s artistic director David Thacker.

War Horse is at The Lowry, Salford Quays, until Saturday, September 20.

World War 1 Timeline

28 July, 1914
Austria declared war on Serbia

1 August, 1914
Germany declared war on Russia

4 August, 1914
Britain declared war on Germany

23 August, 1914
The British Expeditionary Force started its retreat from Mons. Germany invaded France

26 August, 1914
Russian army defeated at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes.

6 September, 1914
Battle of the Marne started

Facts and Figures about horses in World War 1

During the conflict, the British Army deployed more than one million horses and mules.

The horses had four main roles in battle — supply horses and mules were used to move ammunition, general supplies and ambulances; riding horses were ridden by soldiers behind and sometimes even on the frontline; gun horses pulled artillery pieces that weighed as much as taxis and cavalry horses were used in battle.

The British Army provided 2,978,301 tons of oats and 2,460,301 tons of pressed hay as fodder during the conflict.

The British Army invested immense resources in keeping horses ready for war. By November 1918, nearly 19,000 men were serving in the Remount Department of the British Army preparing horses to be sent to war across three continents.

On average the British Army lost 15% of its horses every year. Surprisingly, just a quarter of horse deaths were caused by enemy action. The biggest killer was debility, a condition caused by exposure to the elements, hunger and illness.