Page 32 - Chiron Spring 2020

32 CHIRON CALLING
BRIGADIER ROBERT JOHN CLIFFORD
18/8/30 – 24/1/20
John grew up in the Midlands with his parents and sister Betty and they enjoyed many happy summer holidays in rural Herefordshire. It was here that John developed a passion for animals, which started whilst caring for his first dog – a Welsh sheepdog - who was born not far away in Hergest Ridge. Early on he made the decision to become a Veterinary Surgeon and he entered the Royal Veterinary College in London in 1948. He qualified in 1953, but the following year he was conscripted into the Army for National Service. He had always planned to go into private veterinary practice after National Service, but instead there followed 34 years in the British Army.
During National Service, John started as a private soldier in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, but was soon commissioned into the Royal Army Veterinary Corps as a Lieutenant, where much of his time was spent training dogs. He progressed through the corps to Brigadier, which was his rank when he retired from the Army in 1987, as Director of the Army Veterinary Corps.
Going back to 1955, shortly after entering the Army, John met Captain Pauline Sullivan of the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps - who, at the time, outranked him. They married shortly after and spent 64 glorious years together with Pauline providing constant support to John’s life in the British Army.
Military life was busy for them both and Pauline devoted her life to John, her 3 children, as well as the Army. John was initially based in England, but many overseas postings followed - the first being
John Clifford with Seamus 1980
to Singapore and Malaya where Sean and Anne-Marie were born. At that time, John was in charge of British Army Dog Unit and was involved with their training and deployment, as well as seeking out and researching how dogs could be used to assist with a multitude of military activities. In addition, there were other non-canine duties: during the Malayan Emergency, John recalled being asked for help by local villagers to save a cow from a difficult calving. After the successful delivery of the calf, he later learned that local insurgents surrounding the village had received orders that the ‘tall British officer with a moustache’ was not be touched!
He was then posted to Germany and later Cyprus, where Kevin was born. This was followed by a return to England in 1963, where he commanded a research unit at Aldershot and persuaded the Ministry of Defence to develop a tactical dog troop, which later formed the basis of the Army Dog Unit in Northern Ireland. It was in Aldershot that John was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery, when he stepped in to rescue a woman being assaulted at night, when sadly receiving a stab wound to his back in the process, which would bother him for years after.
Further overseas postings followed, where he was in command of all dogs and dog handlers in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Then followed several years in the United Kingdom - including a challenging year in Northern Ireland - before returning to Germany again. Finally, in 1983, the family returned to England for John’s last posting as Director of the Army Veterinary Service in Droitwich, which he continued until he retired. Whilst Director, he was honoured with the title of The Queen’s Honorary Veterinary Surgeon, which he held from 1983 to 1987. Following retirement, he held the title of Honorary Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps.
Under John’s command, the whole concept of the military dog changed. When he joined the Army, dogs were essentially seen as guard dogs which he described as ‘a fairly vicious type of animal with minimal control and was an offshoot of war-time dogs, when intruders were likely to be armed’. However, under John’s leadership, dog work became more sophisticated with a strong emphasis on discipline and detection, and less emphasis on aggression. Army dogs were trained to search out explosives, detect arms and ammunition and, latterly, drugs. When overseas, John learned to deal with the many different nationalities of dog handlers, who had differing approaches to both dogs and dog training. He advised NATO countries on the use of dogs in counter-terrorism and lectured widely, including in the United States to both the NYPD and the CIA.
In particular, the German Shepherd Dog was noted to have the right temperament for Army work - being amenable and easy to train - and this led to John acquiring
John Clifford in Cyprus 1963
his favourite dog - Seamus. Seamus was initially trained as a personal protection dog and accompanied John to Northern Ireland, where he helped protect him during his time in Belfast. Later, after leaving the Army, John welcomed and adored his last German Shepherd, Rosie, who many of us will remember.
Alongside the Army, John was also greatly involved with The Kennel Club which he joined in 1967. He sat on several committees including the Agility and Disciplinary subcommittees, as well as being a member of General Committee. Following his father, John became Senior Grand Deacon of Warwick Masonic Lodge, and was Master of the Kennel Club Connaught Lodge, which he thoroughly enjoyed.
He became a council member for Guide Dogs for the Blind in 1975 and continued to work with them for many years after retirement, always with a keen interest in dog welfare. After a brief stint as Chief Steward of the National Greyhound Racing Club, John and Pauline retired properly and settled in Herefordshire in 1989.
It was here they started on the huge project of converting Greenfield Barn from an empty cattle barn set in 4 acres of fields, to a wonderful and spacious dwelling, which became their home for nearly 20 years. This was their 28th home in 35 years, which is most extraordinary, but is probably the place where we all like to remember them most - where their children were always welcome and where their grandchildren played happily for many hours in the barn and the surrounding fields.
Kevin & Katy Clifford February 2020