Page 323 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
the streets and now almost as famous at the legendary Melton pork pies.
The sixty-strong band has been gradually spreading its horizons. Now it performs in all parts of the UK and had an American tour planned in 1985. Most of the players are children from about nine-years upwards. The majority move on at about sixteen or seventeen, but there is no upper age limit and for some the band becomes a lifetime’s interest. The band’s uniform is loosely based on those of the Grenadier Guards, but with the addition of white trousers which they feel makes the ensemble look more colourful. Many thought, as the band practised on Camp, that they were trained by the Army but this was not the case and the instructors were even asked what regiment they were from at times. “In some ways it is probably harder to teach children to march than soldiers because I can’t send anybody to the guardhouse” said Mr Hutton. The drum major could throw his mace far higher than his instructor Mr Needham did when he was a younger man: “It’s just hard work, and practice. Once you get an idea of how to do it, you don’t forget it. Anyone can do it, as long as they keep practicing,” said Paul Irons.
Most of the children when they joined could not play a musical instrument but the band has its own brass instructors and a drum instructor. The use of the RAVC premises once a week is supplemented by further practice in a local playground but occasionally the Toy Soldiers get a chance to help the real soldiers in the town. The band goes up to the RAVC centre and marches around newly trained horses in order to get them used to the sound of military music on ceremonial occasions.29
1984... It’s a Dog’s Life... But It’s Fun
What does it take to apprehend intruders and gunmen, arms and explosives and detect the presence of mines?
Well, in many cases it requires four legs, strength, speed and a good nose – preferably a wet one. Man has used his friend the dog for centuries to do much of his dirty work. Armies in the Middle Ages clad dogs in spiked armours and sent them forward to face the enemy. During World War Two, the Russians packed explosive on dogs’ backs and detonated them by antenna as they ran under indicated enemy tanks. The British Army has, of course, never been so cruel but it does recognise its canine colleague’s superior capability in certain tasks. A dog is fast, powerfully built and, when required, extremely ferocious.
For more sensitive work, his sense of smell is infinitely better than man’s and he is cheap to run. All he requires in return is the respect and affection of his handler, a dry kennel, a daily bowl of meat
and a handful of hardtack biscuits. Not much, is it, for almost a lifetime’s devotion to duty? Yet there is something else a dog gets from service in the Army and that is an undeniably high degree of job satisfaction.
At the Army Dog Training School, part of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps Training Centre in Melton Mowbray, what immediately impresses the visitor is that the dogs are happy, fit, well-fed and eager to work. They come to the School when they are about two years old, often donated by people no longer able to look after them for one reason or another.
Sometimes it is because the dog is simply too hard to handle as a family pet or because the family has split up. As Captain Tony Rossell, Officer Commanding said, the School would not get half its dogs if it were not for divorce!
Part of the School complex, which is committed to producing around two hundred and forty fully trained dogs a year, is given over to the new intakes. Here the former family pets are kept in isolation from other dogs because of the risk of disease and carefully assessed for three weeks before being taken on for training. From then on, if he is successful, he gets a new identity. Goodbye “Rover” and “Fido” and hello to “Khan” and “Cimba” – you’re in the Army now!
Commanding Officer of the Training Centre, Colonel Scott Moffat, explained that any breed of dog can be trained for specific tasks but in terms of Army duties two breeds are recognised as most suitable. These are the German Shepherd (or Alsatian) and the Labrador.
“We do not object to training any dog,” he said “as long as it is capable and has the right mental approach to the tasks it is being asked to perform, but we are a production line here really and ninety- eight percent of our work is trained protection or guard dogs.
“We know the German Shepherd responds well and we really don’t have the time to investigate the capabilities of other breeds.”
Another important factor in breed selection is that the dog must look the part: “He has to be the right size for a start,” said Colonel Moffat. “A trained toy poodle might well be wholly committed to his job too, but he wouldn’t frighten anyone.”
Similarly, bitches are not favoured because they tend to be kinder, softer and smaller.
Breeding is not a viable proposition for the Army because it costs too much. Since Army dogs start work at between two and three years old, the investment in a dog’s puppyhood in terms of food
29 Extracts from Soldier Magazine dated October 1983.
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