Royal Army Veterinary Corps

The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. It is also responsible for arms and explosive, drug, mine and multiple other search disciplines. It is a small corps, forming part of the Army Medical Services.

History

thumbnail|left|A sergeant of the RAVC bandages the wounded ear of a mine-detecting dog at [[Bayeux in Normandy, 5 July 1944.]]

The Army Veterinary Service was founded in 1796 after public outrage concerning the death of Army horses. Prior to this date, the management and care of army horses had been left to each individual regiment's Quartermaster, who (using government-contracted farriers) inspected animals on the march and saw to shoeing, stabling and other routine matters.

In 1795 a veterinary surgeon, William Stockley, was appointed on a trial basis for six months to the 1st Fencible Cavalry Regiment. The experiment was a success, and in April the following year a Board of Cavalry Officers recommended that a veterinary surgeon should be attached to each regiment of cavalry, agreeing to defray the costs of three years' training for up to six men per year at the recently established Veterinary College of London. At the same time, Edward Coleman, Principal of the Veterinary College, was appointed 'Principal Veterinary Surgeon to the Cavalry and Veterinary Surgeon to the Board of Ordnance'. With regard to the cavalry, his duties were to recommend veterinary surgeons for regimental appointments, and to inspect the horses of regiments 'when ordered to do so by the Commander-in-Chief or by the commanding Officers'. He was also contracted to supply 'Horse Medicines', and, as Principal of the College, was closely involved in the process of veterinary training and in keeping surgeons abreast of new developments. Sixteen veterinary surgeons were appointed the following year, and by 1801 there were 44 in total. At this time, rather than forming their own autonomous department or corps, each veterinary surgeon was recruited directly into a regiment and formed part of the regimental staff under the authority of its colonel. As well as to cavalry regiments, veterinary surgeons were appointed to other units, such as the Royal Artillery and the Royal Waggon Train.

In 1805 a sizeable Veterinary Establishment was opened on Woolwich Common to see to the equine needs of the Royal Artillery (whose Barracks were nearby). Later known as the Royal Horse Infirmary, it went on to function as a hospital, veterinary store and centre of veterinary research. John Percivall was provided with quarters there; and in 1816 he took over as Senior Veterinary Surgeon of the Ordnance from Edward Coleman (the latter remaining P.V.S. to the Army until his death more than 20 years later).

In the years that followed the terms of service of military veterinary surgeons was put on a sounder footing, and systems and regulations were drawn up for the performance of their duties. By the mid-1850s there were sixty-four serving veterinary surgeons, of whom forty-three went with their units to the war in Crimea; however, as with the other military support services involved, lack of co-ordination and proper facilities severely hampered their work and led to criticism.

Army Veterinary Department

The Board of Ordnance (which was separate from the Army and included the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers as part of its establishment) had always maintained its own veterinary service; but following the abolition of the Board and the transfer of its troops to the Army, the separate veterinary services were brought together under a single Principal Veterinary Surgeon (P.V.S.) in 1859. That year, all Army Veterinary Surgeons were listed together for the first time in the official Army List, under the heading 'Veterinary Medical Department' (the word 'Medical' being dropped two years later). It was, however, a department more in name than in practice, since veterinary surgeons once appointed still remained attached to a regiment and answerable to its colonel.

The Royal Horse Infirmary, Woolwich became the de facto headquarters of the Department: the Principal Veterinary Surgeon was based (and housed) there, and newly-commissioned officers attended there to receive instruction. As well as the Royal Field Artillery and the Royal Horse Artillery (both of which used large numbers of horses), the Horse Transport Branch of the Army Service Corps was based in Woolwich, which provided the Army's main land transport capability. Initially established in the Infirmary Stables alongside one of the cavalry barracks, it instructed army officers in the care of animals, basic veterinary first aid and the selection of remounts, while at the same time instructing army veterinary surgeons in military duties and veterinary knowledge relevant to particular combat situations (including tropical diseases, which were prevalent among army animals at the time). In 1890 there were reported to be 3,312 army horses in Aldershot Camp: 1,814 belonging to cavalry regiments, 750 to the Royal Artillery (312 riding and 438 draught horses), 397 horses (and mules) pertaining to the Army Service Corps, and 262 to the Royal Engineers (the rest being attached to officers of the infantry regiments). In 1899 the School moved into more permanent premises, later known as Fitzwygram House. The committee reported in 1903, recommending among other things a comprehensive restructuring of the Department. Three years later the Corps amalgamated with the Department to form a single unit (the Army Veterinary Corps) of officers, NCOs and men. At Aldershot the old infirmary stables were extended to form the new hospital, with new accommodation for sixty horses provided, plus an isolation ward and an operating theatre; it was completed in 1910. During World War I temporary wooden stables were added to provide space for over a thousand animals.

Nevertheless, animals would still be required by the army, especially where there was rough terrain or other conditions with which motor vehicles struggled to cope. During World War II the strength of the Corps increased from 85 officers and 105 other ranks, to a total of 519 officers and 3,939 other ranks. By 1942 the Army had 6,500 horses, 10,000 mules and 1,700 camels in service. That year the work of the Army Remount Service was taken over by the RAVC; in Italy, there was a high incidence of battle casualties among mules (used in large numbers for transport due to the difficult terrain) and the Corps was engaged in their procurement as well as their treatment.

During the war the Army Veterinary and Remount Services took on responsibility for providing the army with dogs. In the years since the Second World War, dogs have become the main animal to be engaged in combat situations.

The RAVC survived the amalgamation of the other Army Medical Services in late 2024 and remained independent of the newly formed Royal Army Medical Service due to their legal and operational combatant status which differed from the special protected status of the other corps.

Function

thumb|left|A RAVC Officer checks the health of local livestock, Afghanistan, 2011.

thumb|right|upright|Officer of the RAVC accompanying the [[King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, at a ceremonial event]]

The RAVC provides, trains and cares for mainly dogs and horses, but also tends to the various regimental mascots in the army, which range from goats to an antelope. Personnel include veterinary surgeons and veterinary technicians providing medical and surgical care to animals, and handlers who train dogs and deploy with them on operational service. Dogs are used extensively in the theatre of war, and are organised within the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment (see below). Horses are used primarily for ceremonial purposes, although the Corps continues to rehearse procedures for the operational deployment of horses. This is explained on its website in these terms: <blockquote>Although there is unlikely ever be a significantly large requirement for equines in future military operations, there are scenarios where ground conditions, (in situations where stealth is required or helicopters are not available for example), could make pack transport a vital solution to the need.

Defence Animal Training Regiment

Honours

Sadie, a black labrador retriever belonging to 102 MWDSU and cared for by handler Lance Corporal Karen Yardley, won the PDSA Dickin Medal ("the animals' VC") in 2007.

On 24 July 2008, Lance Corporal Kenneth Michael Rowe of the RAVC and attached to 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, was killed along with his search dog Sasha, during a contact with the Taliban in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

In February 2010, Treo, a black Labrador-Spaniel crossbreed, was awarded the Dickin Medal for services in Afghanistan.

In 2011 Lance Corporal Liam Tasker of 104 MWD Squadron was killed in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He was posthumously mentioned in despatches. His Arms Explosive search dog, Theo, died shortly afterwards. Theo was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal on 25 October 2012.

Memorials

thumb|RAVC Memorial, [[National Memorial Arboretum]]

A memorial to the RAVC and its predecessors was unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum on 2 May 2014 by the Princess Royal. Seven memorial stones in remembrance of the five dog handlers who lost their lives while serving in Northern Ireland and the two dog handlers who were killed while on operations in Afghanistan have been placed at their base in North Luffenham.

Built heritage

In late March 2016, the Ministry of Defence announced that Fitzwygram House in Aldershot (also known as the Royal Army Veterinary Centre), was one of ten sites that would be sold in order to reduce the size of the Defence estate. Built in 1899 for the Army Veterinary School, the building contained a library, laboratories, teaching and demonstration rooms (which remained in use after the closure of the School). It contains a plaque which reads: <blockquote>This school was founded through the representations of James Collins esq, Principal Veterinary Surgeon to the forces and Major General Sir Frederick Fitzwygram, Bart FRCVS commanding the Cavalry Brigade, Aldershot, 1st June 1880. This (a surviving combination of mid-19th century cavalry infirmary stables and early twentieth century sick boxes, operating room and pharmacy) was used as a First World War horse hospital, and has been described as providing 'a unique archaeological record of that period of military veterinary history'.

Heads of the Corps and its predecessors

Principal Veterinary Surgeon to the Cavalry

1796–1839: Professor Edward Coleman
1839–1854: Mr Frederick C. Cherry
1854–1858: Mr John Wilkinson

Medical Superintendent to the Veterinary Service of the Board of Ordnance (Artillery)

Director-General Army Veterinary Services

1907–1910: Major-General Sir Frederick Smith KCMG, CB
1910–1917: Major-General Sir Robert Pringle, KCMG, CB, DSO
1917–1921: Major-General Sir Layton Blenkinsop KCB, DSO
1921–1925: Major-General William Dunlop Smith CB, CMG, DSO
1925–1929: Major-General Henry T. Sawyer CB, DSO
1929–1933: Major-General William S. Anthony CB, CMG
1933–1937: Major-General James J. B. Tapley CB, DSO

Director Army Veterinary Services

1937–1940: Brigadier Charles Allison Murray CBE

Director Royal Army Veterinary Corps

1990–1994 Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles OBE

Director Army Veterinary and Remount Services

1994–1997 Brigadier Paul G H Jepson QHVS
1997–2001 Brigadier Andrew H Roache QHVS
2001–2007 Brigadier Andrew S Warde CBE QHVS
2007–2011 Brigadier Tom S Ogilvie-Graham MBE QHVS
2011–2014 Colonel Neil C Smith QHVS
2014–2017 Douglas A Macdonald QHVS

Chief Veterinary Officer

2017–2019 Colonel Neil C Smith QHVS

Chief Veterinary and Remount Officer

2020–present Colonel Mark C E Morrison QHVS

Order of precedence

References

External links

Official site