Page 349 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
more reliable and dependable soldiers.”
The Colonel established that the reason for the women’s success in their roles was their dedication to duty and their love of working with dogs and horses. He said that they did their job, “...extraor- dinarily well because, of all things in the world, it
is what they want to do the most...”
For anyone who wants to work with animals in
the Army the Melton Mowbray posting was, and remains, very popular. Colonel Wilkins recalled how volunteers, if their officers believed they understood how hard the life could be, went to the Depot on a month’s probation. Inevitably, not everyone made the grade and, what he called, a thick file marked “re-postings” existed to prove it.
For some, their illusions shattered fast in a workday life of stables, muck, and shovels. According to the Colonel: “Girls who are obviously out of place realise the truth long before they see the trio of kindly, but adverse reports. Some are wrong in temperament; others lack the physical strength to hold eighty pounds of independ- ent-minded dog.”
One of the early recruits selected for special mention was 19-year-old Private Janet Jones, who the Colonel described as: “...someone who made a stand for the smaller fry...at five-foot nothing!” Private Jones made an impact on the men of the RAVC because she defied all the odds and the sceptics who assumed that the boisterous trainee dogs would be too powerful for her to handle. By impressing the higher ranks, she transferred then to the stables where again she rose to the challenge by achieving a David-and-Goliath mastery over horses. Seven-stone Private Jones standing on a bucket to groom Jupiter – one hundred and twenty stones (seven hundred and sixty-two kg) of horse – became one of the sights in the Depot and all reports confirmed that Jupiter knew that the WRAC standing on the bucket was absolutely the boss!
According to Colonel Wilkins, every probationer at the Depot would inevitably display a preference for the horses or the dogs – but rarely both, which made the final assignment of duties much easier. Once installed in the dog section or the stables the recruits settled down to the unglamorous realities of keeping animals fed, watered, cleaned, and exercised leaving the RAVC soldiers to concentrate on the animals’ training.
The arrival of the WRAC, it seems, brought with it an assumption that although nurture was necessary for the animals’ welfare it could be detrimental as an element of their training or as Colonel Hector Wilkins put it at the time: “The
affection the girls heap on the dogs is perhaps essential for the animals’ welfare, but if introduced into training it would muffle a dog’s ferocity and ruin it for Service.” He goes on to say that the emotional involvement of the kennel maid can also create an ‘edge’ in the relationship between them and a dog’s handler – all down to a mutual respect and shared affection for the dog. If there was one thing that always elicited tears from both corners, it was when news came of a dog’s posting overseas.
All the Melton Mowbray Women’s Royal Army Corps are encouraged to ride, and the grooms spend hours in the saddle.
For the girls and women who joined the Army with the thought of being with the horses at Melton Mowbray, the long exercise rides in the early mornings were a dream come true. The flip side, was one of the toughest jobs that WRAC had to face in the form of never-ending, back breaking sessions, humping straw, and what some referred to as “the chilling unpleasantries of rubbing down two horses in the winter ’s evening.” But to many it was a way of life that gave them hours of happiness and emotional pleasure. Which was good because the amount of work meant that there was very little time to relax or take time out in the town. It wasn’t unusual for the girls to volunteer to help the official duty WRAC to complete their daily tasks. And when it came to exercise, on top of the strenuous work, the girls of the WRAC marched four miles a day between their quarters and the stables!
The WRAC contingent embraced their work and defended their reputation – especially when described as: “...the Upper Sixth at St Trinian’s” – by combining their practical duties with academic success.
Private Carol Forwood was the first WRAC girl at Melton Mowbray to qualify as an Animal Nursing Auxiliary. After her normal daytime duties in the veterinary hospital, where she cared for around twenty or more sick horses, Carol picked up her textbooks to study for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons examination to become the veterinary equivalent of, what was at the time in the NHS, a State Registered Nurse.
Meanwhile, the sportswomen in the WRAC were able to display their prowess alongside the men. One of those whose talent burst through was Private Rosemary Morton, the Army Foil Champion. But there was one record that the women ran away with every time – using their weight in hand cream! It was one of the differences
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