Page 10 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

I am extremely grateful to the RAVC Corps Coun- cil in 2020, for taking the decision to entrust me and for also having the faith that I would deliver the Corps History, covering the period from 1962 – 2021.
My appreciation must also go to all RAVC personnel during the last sixty years, who spent valuable time putting pen to paper either writing accounts for the RAVC Journals or the later Chiron Callings. I also convey my gratitude to Soldier Magazine who have kindly granted permission to reproduce many of their articles and features for this historical account. I wish to thank those who also contributed photographs, as well as the many authors of reports and returns that have covered countless different subjects, without this essential material this narrative would not have been at all possible.
Particular recognition must go to Mr Rob Macintosh for his research at the commencement of the project and to Isabel George for rewording and reshuffling many parts of my narrative. Recognition should also go to Brigadier (Retd) Paul Jepson who diligently read all chapters for accuracy and errors, Lieutenant Colonels (Retd) Abby DuBaree for his unwavering support and wholehearted encouragement throughout, Phil Hobson MBE BEM who so generously provided
much detail concerning the early deployment of RAVC handlers during the start of ‘the Troubles’, Martyn Thompson MBE and Peter Roffey OBE for proofreading the entire typescript and for their helpful comments and proposals. Further recognition should go to Major Tony Rossell for his excellent recall of numerous events and the names of many personnel involved. I would also like to thank the Ex-RAVC Warrant Officers Paul Anderson, David Blackmore, Frank Holmes, Paul Williams and currently serving Staff Sergeant Charlie Bates who without fuss or fanfare rapidly found information and added much colour to this volume. Lastly, I’d like to especially thank Private Hannah Tomlinson who painstakingly typed up so much in an expert manner.
A great deal of effort has been undertaken to identify contributors of narratives and photographs. The RAVC welcome any further information that may accurately identify any unattributed material contained in this volume and the Corps will do its utmost to include all omitted references identified within any future editions of the publication.
C Ham December 2021
Acknowledgments
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