Page 134 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
mental in witnessing the MSO recruits passing through the hands of the multi-lingual MSO instructors and learn the mysteries of “left turn”, “right turn”, “heel”, “stay” etc, until they qualified for the extra pay as trained dog handlers.13
A comment in The Journal of Autumn 1965 put the demand on the Unit into perspective: “Both British and MSO personnel continued to pass steadily through the hands of the respective instructors, and just at the time when we think that at last our commitments for men and dogs have been filled, some kind person produces another unit requiring ‘Care and Attention’.” The MSO were evidently very much part of 1 WDTU and wholly embraced by the RAVC. One example of this was how ‘The Journal’ that same year mentioned how both British and MSO children attended a Christmas party organised by the Ladies Club, but many busy fathers were unable to attend.14 And earlier, in May when Her Majesty The Queen visited Sennelager and inspected a parade, no RAVC were understood to be involved but both the CO and AO and their families – along with MSO and German civilians – were allocated tickets to view.15
The Journal of Spring 1966 was useful again in building a picture of the indispensable nature of the MSO and, in this case, Superintendent Herr Johan Vasic:
“Vasic and his merry MSO are still around and coming on with what appears to be a humdrum routine but is in fact a very vital part of our existence. Recruiting is going extremely well amongst the MSO, but the wastage is also heavy amongst our newly joined recruits.”16
Members of the MSO were clearly regarded as members of the RAVC family which meant the loss of one of their number cast a pall of grief over the entire Unit. This was very much the case following the sudden death of ‘Mischo’ who was based at the veterinary hospital as the MSO Kennelman.17 The loss of this colleague was, inevitably and sadly followed by others including the aforementioned Superintendent Herr Johan Vasic. Superintendent Vasic’s memorial service was held on 25th May 1967 at Schwerte, a town in the district of Unna, in central North Rhine-Westphalia. The huge respect for the man was reflected in the way that the occasion was reported in the Corps’ Journal. A fellow MSO member spoke with affection and for
13 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 35 No 2 Autumn 1964.
14 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 36 No 1 Spring 1965.
15 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 36 No 2 Autumn 1965.
16 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 37 No 1 Spring 1966.
17 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 36 No 2 Autumn 1965.
18 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 38 No 1 Summer 1967.
everyone when he said: “The occasion was very moving. The day was fine with a crisp wind and gay sun. As one stirred in memory of one of the great MSO characters, fine, upstanding thoughts came to our minds. We remembered his bravery in ill-health, his courage and resilience in the many trying days he endured with us, in the days of being a prisoner of the Italians and Nazi Germans, his inborn cheerfulness that helped us when our spirits were low and his fine sense of loyalty to King and dignified traditionalism.”18
A mass attendance by the RAVC at the service outlined the long-standing respect and close rapport that existed between the Corps and the MSO.
Competition and Growth:
The Young Cup Competitions, an article by Staff Supt Vukmanovic MBE, gave readers of the Corps’ Journal in 1968 a good idea of the competitive spirit that existed within the MSO when he wrote: ‘From the beginning, and up to the present day, these competi- tions have indeed shown themselves as very interesting and instructive. The preparation for these competitions takes a considerable time and requires patience and effort. The testing of every dog and handler’s standard is carefully done within the MSO Groups, before the selection of Guard dog teams is carried out for the final tests at Sennelager’.
The Young Cup was presented annually to the best Guard dog team of the MSO or GSU (one dog and two handlers), which in the opinion of the judges earns the highest number of points for efficiency. The Bishop Vase was awarded to the best team of two handlers and their dogs from an MSO Group.
When introducing these competitions, the idea was to foster the spirit and morale of friendly rivalry between groups to raise the standard of proficiency in handling of Guard dogs and their management.
From 1960 to 1966, one team – consisting of one dog and two handlers – was selected from each group for the final test at Sennelager. When Lt Col Bishop assumed command of our Unit he showed great interest in continuing these competitions. He emphasised the significance of them in the maintenance of techniques for training. He ordered more participants to come to Sennelager for annual competitions and so it was decided that each group should select a team for final tests at Sennelager – consisting of three dogs and four handlers from each group. The paired dogs were to compete for the Young Cup and the team for a team prize. The results of
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