Page 287 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
dogs recognise that the environment is artificial and the exercises fail. It was acknowledged that the use of dogs in Northern Ireland was, without doubt, almost entirely possible due to the availa- bility of the appropriate training terrain that was available in Melton.
Supporting this view, correspondence at the time (1975) cited a number of dogs trained elsewhere and then posted to Ulster, were turning out to be conspicuous failures. For example, one writer observed: “...no one expected jungle orientated specialist dogs to be trained at either Melton or Luffenham because the description of the environment was evident, even to the completely uninitiated. Technically, the disparities between Luffenham and the undulating, interesting, natural terrain of Melton would render meaningful specialist dog training impossible.”3
The Director, Brigadier Orr, stated that the move to Luffenham was unacceptable and that technical staff should discuss the matter in greater depth. He went on to say because of the capital cost involved, the venture must be considered a long-term venture. And, furthermore stated that the move would be fool hardy if it was merely to utilise spare capacity at some redundant RAF station. More than that, he stated in his profes- sional, opinion, the terrain was totally unsuitable. What seemed to be firmly in the Brigadier’s mind was the commitment of such a move: that any move of the Training Centre would be permanent – there could be no going back if the experiment failed. Clearly, he felt that it most certainly would fail at North Luffenham.
By late 1976 conditions at the Training Centre were in an appalling state. Continuous maintenance was required both at Welby Lane Camp (also called ‘Vet Camp’), the Granary and the dog kennels. The kennels were working at full capacity with an increasing number of dogs passing through them, but unfortunately the infrastructure was not up to the strain. For one thing, the septic tank proved wholly inadequate and had been leaking raw sewage into a nearby stream that ultimately fed into the River Trent. Unsurprisingly, there was a rational fear that the local authorities would close the kennel site if this could not have been rectified.
Initial hopes and thoughts that temporary palliative measures would be enough were quickly dashed because the reality was – a clear need
to rebuild and surface the entire ‘School’. In an uncompromising letter from Lieutenant Colonel H W Clarke from HQ Eastern District (dated 17th August 1976), relating to the state of affairs at the Training Centre, he emphasised that that the worrying state of affairs could not continue and that urgent measures were required.4
Problems were manifest indeed. Lieutenant Colonel Peter Roffey, when Quartermaster at DAC, was project manager for the years 1975 – 80. This entailed numerous meetings with personnel from the Ministry of Defence Works Department. The task and planning required was immense and that included a number of matters that required investigation and solving. From large issues, such as design and scale of the new buildings, to minutiae such as the way stable doors opened to be beneficial to the horses.5 All queries required skilful negotiation – accompanied by an almost limitless supply of patience.
The MOD Review
In the mid 1970’s the site came up for review by the MOD. This required a strong response from the Corps to maintain its stance and re-affirm its merits regarding dog training, especially the terrain and techniques which were ideally suited for specialist training in Northern Ireland. In a succinct letter from Colonel H W Bishop then Commandant at the RAVC Training Centre, to HQ Eastern District at Colchester the case for retaining the RARDE Gun Range at Asfordby, approxi- mately just over three miles (5.5 kilometres) west of Melton Mowbray, Gun range location was clearly made citing the suitability of the roads, railways, culverts, drains, disused workshops, office accom- modation etc. His argument is reinforced by the geographical and environmental features at the site i.e., the undulating ground and the mix of flora and fauna. The Colonel confirmed: “It is beyond question that the varieties of facilities are virtually purpose built for specialist dog training. The high reputation of Arms/Explosive Search dogs and Tracker dogs in Northern Ireland is in no small way due to the exceptional advanced training facilities that the (Asfordby) range grants the Army Dog Training School.”6
In correspondence between Lieutenant Colonel H W Clarke (HQ Eastern District) to the various groups concerned, he indicates that the Asfordby ranges will remain in the Army for dog training
3 Demi Official letter to A/BR 5063 AVR dated 22nd October 1975.
4 Letter dated 17th August 1976. From Lieutenant Colonel H W Clark, HQ E District to MoD on Planning. Rebuild of RAVC Training Centre.
5 Oral testimony of Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Peter Roffey RAVC interviewed by R McIntosh on the 21st July 2016 at the DAC.
6 Letter dated 7th July 1976. From Harry W Bishop (RAVC Training Centre) Colonel Commandant to HQ Eastern District. Planning. Rebuild of RAVC Training
Centre.
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