Lifting the lid on Lizzie the legendary city elephant

'˜Lizzie the legend' is the elephant inspiration behind the Herd of Sheffield Trail.

Lizzie came to Sheffield in 1916 - exactly 100 years ago, at the height of the first world war - to contribute to the war effort.

She was acquired from a menagerie and brought to the city by Thomas Ward, who owned a scrap metal business that was vital to Sheffield’s foundries and steel makers. Lizzie was brought to Sheffield to replace horses that were recruited by the military to serve in Europe during the war. She became one of the most important historical figures in Sheffield’s steel industry, transporting machinery around the city and helped supply Sheffield’s foundries and steel makers with the materials they so desperately needed to power the country’s armed forces.