Page 229 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
to be made of the fauna of the Blue Nile and other parts of Ethiopia. The Expedition was run on military lines and was largely successful due to the efficient teamwork and dedication of all members. All but 20 miles (32km) of the river were navigated by crews in boats and hundreds of specimens were collected, not only by the zoologists, but by the very enthusiastic team of subalterns.
My activities were separated by one minor accident where I fell into a hyena hole and sprained my ankle. During this period of relative inactivity, I was employed as a signaller and go-between with the Provincial authorities, and these three weeks served to divide my two main jobs on the Expedition.
For the first five weeks it was my task to acquire pack animals and, from one of the start points perpendicular to the River Ghimbi, to nurse a pack-train across some 80 miles of mountain and river to re-supply the party on the Nile and to lift out some of their heavy gear. In the province of Gojjam the acquisition of mules and pack-donkeys was easy. In Walega, however, the province from which I started, it was nigh impossible. The reason, apart from the avarice of the Walegans, was their antipathy to let hired animals down into the river basin where there was a prevalent disease called “Nagana” a trypanosomal disease, like Sleeping Sickness, carried by Tsetse flies. I had on the good advice of a senior government veteri- narian, Doctor A Makonnen, already prepared for the exigency of Nagana with Hoecht’s “Berenil” but found the locals impossible to convince of my magic powers.
The only thing to do was to buy twelve donkeys, all we could afford. I then adapted our mule harness, kindly lent to us by “H” Squadron RCT, by taking off all the straps and employing the panels with a minute breast and tail strap. This worked admirably. We set out then with our doughty band of four British, three Ethiopian and twelve Asinine members. After a nightmare march of ten days, we found ourselves still 40 miles from the River Nile and some 5,000 feet lower than when we started, in what anywhere in Africa is called ‘primary’ jungle. The going was bad but the rivers we had to face – these were tributaries of a tributary of the Nile – the Didessa River – were impassable by pack transport so we split up and Lt David Bromhead, of the South Wales Borderers, and I brought our charges full of trypanosomes and Berenil back to Ghimbi. We suffered all the trials and tribulations of generations of muleteers and, at times, “turned-in” exhausted, sleeping among
the donkeys, too tired to worry about marauding animals which, we were assured, included lions.
I am happy to say that we got our donkeys back to Ghimbi, up the escarpment, in the same time as it had taken twice our number to get them down. Apart from a few saddle sores and one lame beast, there was no other trouble, certainly no signs of Nagana. We had all been bitten many times by Tsetse but the Berenil had saved the donkeys and we were saved by our natural immunity.
I treated many native cows on my wanderings, chiefly for what I took to be Johne’s disease, and was able to follow-up prior treatments on the return journey. Human treatments outnumbered animal ones by eight-to-one. The most satisfactory experience of these episodes was the efficacy of now simple drugs, like sulphonamides, in areas where there were, as yet no drug resistances.
My further activities included the testing of military insect repellents, and the collection of a considerable number of animal ectoparasites. Being by this time saturated in insect repellent and unwashed, I was scot-free of human parasite passengers. My collection still awaits my attention for identification in the RAVC School and Stores. I am grateful to the Commandant and Staff there for the help they gave me in material aid for collection and treatments during the expedition.
My final few days in Ethiopia were spent on a game reserve in the east, at a place called Ausc – pronounced Awosh! My task was to shepherd two animal photographers from the Expedition through various parts of the reserve to get “fudge” shots for our final film. I could fill a book with the list of animals, birds and people I met there. Let it suffice to say that I walked and drove around with my mouth open with wonder all the time. Notable incidents were the sighting of the exceedingly rare Chalmers Mountain Reedbuck, a grasshopper buzzard, hitherto reported as an insectivorous bird, killing and eating snakes, and a certain gentleman who carried his gun, still in mint condition and marked St Etienne 1881. Perhaps he oiled it with the butter he puts in his hair!4
1970s:
“.... treatment and education within the capacity of the team.”
This was the broad brief given to the UK team on Ex NAGARAJ (Conference PX42) which took place in North-East Thailand from 8th January to 4th February 1975. The Exercise consisted of six teams from countries affiliated to the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO).
4 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 40 (Supplement) Spring 1969.
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