Page 142 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
Intrepid, then the Royal Navy’s newest assault ship, before landing on Lantau and 4th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers went ashore in landing craft and in a hovercraft of 200 Hovercraft Squadron, Royal Corps of Transport.
The Royal Artillery’s 25 Light Regiment infiltrated men ashore, before the landings to establish observation posts to pinpoint targets for their guns located on the Castle Peak ranges in the New Territories and on islands around Lantau. The Soldier Magazine article praised the skills of the mules of 414 Pack Transport Company, RCT, which seemed cruelly ironic given that the mules had a death sentence hanging over them. They played an invaluable, sure-footed role in the Exercise and proved themselves the best means of moving heavy equipment around difficult terrain in guerrilla-type Operations.
The troops spent two days and nights hunting down the enemy, represented by Gurkhas stationed in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, HMS Intrepid was used as a Joint Force Headquarters by the Exercise controllers, Brigadier M E M MacWilliam, Deputy Commander Land Forces, Hong Kong, and Commodore T W Stocker, Commodore Amphibious Forces, and their respective staff. The Royal Navy also provided two minesweepers to clear a path for HMS Intrepid and assist the landing of the assault boats. The Royal Air Force flew Hunter jet sorties to give good ground attack cover – and helicopters providing mobility unexpected by the terrorists.5
One of the last roles of the 414 Pack Troop was to assist the 2nd Battalion Scots Guards as the regiment refurbished its Crest which had been carved into the hillside a few hundred yards from the border of the New Territories with the Chinese mainland. The Battalion’s name and Regimental star had been a landmark for forty-four years and inspired the name Crest Hill. Armed with canisters of white paint, and spades, the men made three visits to the site to weed, and to reset and repaint the stones that made up the badge. They were helped by the dutiful mules of 414 Pack Transport Troop RCT just as they had assisted on many Exercises during the Battalion’s stay in the Colony alongside part of the 1st Battalion Irish Guards.6
1970s
To many, including the Trainers, the effect of Whitehall blowing hot and cold during the early part of the 1970s produced a definite atmosphere
of uncertainty not only for the soldiers and the mules but for the dogs too.
New part-trained dogs were flown out from the UK to replace animals judged to have lost their savage edge through age or were one of the few who had developed an untreatable illness. In view of their training, it wasn’t possible to re-home the dogs locally so reluctant euthanasia was the only option and a decision that caused under- standable distress: “Any notion that the Chinese handlers were insensitive to their dogs was blatant nonsense,” wrote Major Alan Robertson, RMP (Retd). “This writer saw tears shed as young handlers passed my office window carrying the collar, muzzle and leash of their deceased dog.”7
This situation was made even more challenging when Hong Kong imposed an embargo on the import of Army dogs from the UK, forcing the Unit to purchase dogs from Australia. It was proposed that twelve dogs be procured at an estimated cost of £100 per dog and flown to the Colony late September 1970.8 What really happened was that, by the summer of 1971, eight dogs had been purchased in Australia and transported to Hong Kong by sea. Someone made the decision to stow the dogs on the cargo deck – until a typhoon struck and the dogs were hastily rescued.
A wry remark made in the 1971 summer issue of The Journal hit the nail on the head: “...the RAVC establishment of 414 Pack Troop is rather like an Agatha Christie play, we are getting killed off one by one.” While HK Other Ranks were still all being trained as Class 2 Dog Trainers others in the Unit were in a crippling state of uncertainty. And it wasn’t only the animals and personnel that seemed to be disappearing; someone had a grudge against the much beloved Journal too. It was reported: “... we are sad to lose our journal; this was due more to funding for the great well-presented booklet, as opposed to a lack of leadership and endemic laziness of many of the modern RAVC soldiers and sadly the majority of Corps officers today.”
In any profession it can be difficult to maintain interest and momentum within an atmosphere of unknowns. However, some aspects of the British Army in the Colony remained reliable. The Unit’s British RAVC personnel were essential for the training of handlers and dogs and overseeing the care of the sixty-five to seventy dogs. The RAVC team comprised: a Staff Sergeant, a Sergeant and two Corporals, backed up by a Sergeant and, for a period, two Lance Corporals – the latter three
5 Soldier Magazine dated August 1969 from a report by Joint Services Public Relations Hong Kong.
6 Soldier Magazine ‘Cleaning the Crest’ dated March 1972.
7 It was a dog’s life In Hong Kong’ by Major (Retd) Alan Robertson RMP Chiron Calling Autumn 2013.
8 Signal Unclassified dated 13th July 1970.
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