Page 306 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
little annoyances over 20 years of change – other than bare painted breeze block walls in certain parts that might have attracted a skim of plaster – but to date of this being recorded (in 2021) nothing has come to light and, given the current fiscal climate, post the Covid 19 Pandemic, nothing is likely to. The degree of financial constraint seemingly imposed by the MOD on this venture, or by the PFI providers would have, for a ‘few dollars more’, paid untold dividends. For example, the sheer fact that during the Winter of 2020 and 2021, all heating boilers had to be replaced by the MOD as the ones installed twenty years earlier were found to be obsolete and parts could not be
sourced to replace them. So, the new HQ suffered from both the lack of heating and hot water during the coldest time of the year. Some things never change!
The Corps goes on
With the advent of the Defence Animal Centre, and the later Defence Animal Training Regiment it was no longer possible to have the annotation RAVC in the unit title, however there is no doubt that the DATR and the land comprising the Melton military estate remains very much home to the Corps, its flag proudly flying to this day.
Defence Animal Centre Headquarters circa 2004.
A view of the Dog Training School at Melton circa 2001.
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