Page 271 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 17
The TA Officers Pool, Continental TA
and RAVC Reserves: ‘
A Relevant Army Reserve...thinking to the fight.’
“A committed and flexible Army Reserve that is usable and credible providing trained and skilled manpower, integrated at all levels, in support of national military outputs at home and overseas...”
[Army Reserves Strategy Realignment note to CGS – September 2019]
In 1907 when the Secretary of State for War, Rich- ard Burdon Haldane, created the first Territorial Force in the UK, it was to provide Home Defence only. At that time, Haldane could never have en- visaged the longevity of his creation, or its expan- sion, might and reach as an effective arm of the British Army. The diverse skill set of RAVC Re- serves stands as a testament to an idea that began on home shores but went on to display interna- tional influence.
While volunteer Units had existed for many centuries it was Haldane who decided to merge them to form the Territorial Force, a move he made in the wake of his re-organisation of the Regular Army as an Expeditionary Force. Haldane’s proposal was that the Regular Army, the Volunteers/Yeomanry, and the Militia, should be changed into a two-part structure, with an Expeditionary Force – the Regular Army and a home-defence Territorial Force. These changes were embodied in the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. What essentially, the Secretary of State for War achieved was the abolition of the existing Volunteers and Yeomanry to create the new Territorial Force which was established on 1st April 1908 and its members were mobilised, alongside the Regular Army, in both World War One and World War Two.
During 1920 the Territorial Force Units were formed into the Territorial Army and mobilised to fight during World War Two. By 1967, the revised restructuring and the re-writing of doctrine led to the ‘normal’ use of the Territorial Army for routine support of the Regular Army overseas.
1 A/BR 3016 AVR dated 18th November 1969.
2 ‘A Highly personal view of the RAVC TA Chiron’ Calling Summer 1998.
Kennel Club influences the TA Officers Pool
In 1969, it was a sub-committee of the Kennel Club (KC) who proposed the idea of a ‘Volunteer Trained Dog Reserve’. This was the ‘brainchild’ of the KC Working Trials Committee who encouraged interested KC associates to volunteer seventeen dogs. The proposal was that the Services write to the owners of the volunteered dogs to inform them that, in the event of a National Emergency, their pet could be allocated to military training at the RAVC Training Centre. There were also discussions regarding veterinary suitability and vaccination protocols for the new recruits to the ranks of the Volunteer Trained Dog Reserve. DAVRS1 replied to the KC, on 18th November 1969, stating that it was preferred that the proposal be ‘cooled off’ and that the Army Remount Service (ARS) did not wish to advocate such an approach at that time.
It wasn’t until 1980 that the idea of a form of volunteer dog reserve came, once again, under the spotlight. Professor John Bleby, of the Royal Veterinary College was with the Adjutant General (AG), who was the principal guest at the annual RAVC Officers Club Dinner that year. The dinner, which was held in the RAMC Officers’ Mess in Millbank, London, provided the perfect opportunity to acquire, if only informally, an agreement to the formation of a pool of TA Officers. The Adjutant General was asked directly, by John Bleby, at the function2, for his thoughts. Bleby, who was never backward in coming forward, ambushed the unsuspecting AG with his proposal. The AG looked across the river and, after going through the estimate process, he realised that short of diving into the water, he had no escape
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