Page 115 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
in the form of “Sammi”, a Springer spaniel who was trained to sniff out narcotics. Sammi was to join the JDF’s team of three German Shepherds. Fifteen Drug Detection dogs are deployed worldwide with RAVC, RMP and MDP Units and all were trained at the Army Dog Training School, Melton Mowbray.34
The Founder’s Headstone
It was around this same time in the late 1980s that the gravestone of the RAVC’s Founder, Captain John Shipp, found a new and befitting final resting place at Aldershot. The article Tribute paid to the Army’s First Vet, in Soldier Magazine shared the very special story of how this all came to pass.
A worn and weather battered headstone has been re-sited and dedicated in the grounds of the RAVC Support Group and HQ DAVRS in Aldershot. It was discovered in West Hackney Parish Council Church several years ago and marked the grave of Captain John Shipp (1763 – 1834), the first veterinary surgeon to join the British Army.
John Shipp joined the 11th Light Dragoons in June 1796 and served at the Battle of Bergen. He was present at Waterloo.
The headstone badly damaged during the Second World War, was discovered through the efforts of Dr Ernest Gray, author of Shipp’s biography, The Trumpet of Glory.
A plaque was unveiled by Mr Ian Hamilton, a nephew of Dr Gray.
In a second ceremony the headquarters building was named after Lt Gen Sir Frederick Fitzwygram who qualified as a vet in 1854 while serving with the 6th Dragoons. He became Inspector General of Cavalry and President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and was responsible for a number of reforms.35
What’s new in the ‘90s?
During the early 1990s, six to eight Melton kennels (a wooden design with sleeping compartment and run), were positioned in a small purpose built compound next to the stables and opposite the small veterinary clinic, as part of the RAVC Sp Group activity and growth. The Corps was evolving and very much in response to what was going on in the outside world.
The RAVC RHQ at Fitzwygram House became known internally, within the AMS, as AMD 7, and with that, the Corps became fully integrated into the AMS on 1st April 1995.
The bombing of the London Docklands on 9th February 1996, when the Provisional Irish
34 Soldier Magazine ‘People’ dated 13th November 1989.
35 Soldier Magazine ‘Soldier to Soldier’ dated June 1988.
36 Soldier Magazine ‘Boots, – dogs sniffer for the use of,’ dated 18th March 1996.
Republican Army detonated a powerful truck bomb in South Quay – prompted the development of equipment to protect canine paws. The explosion killed two people and devastated a wide area, causing £150 million worth of damage to the infrastructure. The area was awash with debris and glass shards, which made it dangerous for working Search dogs. Footwear to protect MWD’s paws was not as developed as it is at the time of writing in 2021, but immediately the staff at the RAVC Sp Group began trialling and testing various fabrics that had the potential to prevent glass shards embedding the dogs’ paws. The trial gained a great deal of media coverage, probably much more than anticipated and this inspired Soldier Magazine to join other major new outlets in running a feature on the initiative.
The feature, Boots – dogs sniffer for the use of – was an opportunity for the RAVC to show that their role was not limited to dog handling but extended to animal health and protection.
Footwear solves problem of paws on broken glass. Luke the Labrador was pleased as Punch when he showed off his new boots at Aldershot.
The three-year-old Search Dog has been carrying out trials on protective footwear for the RAVC. Major Neil Smith said the idea for the paw protectors came to him after he had seen footage of the aftermath of the Canary Wharf bombing. “When I saw the carpet of glass covering the streets my first thought was that a search dog couldn’t be used without its paws being cut to ribbons and that we would have to come up with a method of protecting their feet.”
A company which produced protective pouches for sled dogs, adapted several pairs for Army dogs to test. Luke’s handler for the demonstration, WO2 Jay Pedrick, said the pouches had taken some getting used to: “We started by putting them on at feeding times because that is a time the dog enjoys. Now he gets about very well, he is very happy with them” he said.
For Major Smith, the problem of canine foot injuries was not new: “It has been going on for years, but we have never found a satisfactory solution. Now, with the development of new strong, lightweight material we have been looking at the problem once again and the results are promising.”
The Army is to test different materials and styles before making a final selection on the most appropriate footwear to protect the dogs’ paws.36
Millennium moves...
The times, it seemed were a changing and not merely because the world had moved into a new
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