Page 35 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
“hang out” a bit, which risked embarrassment to the Royal Party. A contingency plan was devised – to insert a sponge in the ‘right place’ to keep things under check! With so many and various plans on the go, it was finally decided that tranquillisers would not be used on the day, instead, a couple of ‘human minders’ were invited to step in. With two hefty Hussars, one posted on each side of the horse, Dettingen behaved perfectly.
The sighs of relief when the parade finished and Dettingen led the band off, were audible. A thrown drummer, kettle drums and regalia piled in front of the Royal Box with a horse galloping towards the horizon had more chance of embarrassing the Royal party than any dangling appendages.21
Competitions, Exercises and Ops:
On 21st October 1980, the first of many Canine Biathlons took place with all members of 1 ATDU taking part. The competition was won by Cpl Jock Pryde and proved so successful, that a follow-up was arranged for 1981.
Entrants were challenged to a 4.5 mile run in full combat kit with a Guard dog running alongside. Later, on the ranges, the handler shot with their personal weapon, the SMG, and concluded with a ‘suit attack’, all timed against the clock. The aim of the exercise being to show the Unit members’ fitness mentally, as well as physically.
Only a month earlier, on 16th September in extreme late summer heat, the Unit mustered thirty-five dog handlers for Operation BLISTER. The expectation was that ten thousand demon- strators would force an entry into the Army Air Corps barracks at Hildesheim, the HQ for the huge Exercise CRUSADER that was taking place. Over thirty thousand Regular and Reserve Forces personnel were deployed to practise mobilisation procedures that would culminate in an FTX in BAOR. The ploy was for the demonstrators to disrupt the largest exercise that Germany had ever seen, and the job of 1 ADTU was to train and deploy thirty-five Riot Control dogs. But the most difficult job was matching the dogs with their handlers – a task that was finally achieved by splitting the handlers into sections, each section trained by Cpl’s Jock Pryde, ‘Spud’ O’Flynn and, last but not least, Jim Licqurish.
In the previous week a live mock riot was staged for the CO, Colonel John Clifford, using MSO as the quarry, each carrying and beating dustbin lids,
biscuit tins and whatever else was at hand to help make a loud noise. With the necessary approval, the handlers and the dogs deployed the approximate 75 miles to Hildesheim in a convoy of four-tonners. There, while all housed in a temporary kennel area, the Colonel Commandant of the RAVC, General Sir Peter Leng, visited and inspected the troops and dogs. Meanwhile, over two thousand German Riot Control Police and over three thousand five hundred Army personnel were also deployed to support the brave handlers on the ground. By 1500 hrs that day, the demonstrators started to gather and were slowly moving towards the barracks that housed the Exercise HQ. A few ‘bad words’ were exchanged with the protesters and after about 30 minutes they all dispersed!22
Much was written over the years about the Unit training for a number of activities, including the BAOR tetrathlon,23 SAS Escape and Evasion exercises, training courses for the MSO and BOR, the training of Guard dogs for the MSO, GSU Berlin dogs for Antwerp, visits to the German Civil Police Dog Training School at Stukenbrock, and the Dutch Air Force. These were regarded as genuine eye-openers for the 1 ADTU’s trainers, including RE lectures, NITAT demos and prepa- rations for the Centenary of the Formation of the Army Veterinary Department on 1st April 1981. The formation of a centralised Army Veterinary Department – the forerunner of the Corps – was established by Royal Warrant exactly one hundred years earlier on 1st April 1881.
This was a real cause for celebration involving a small Centenary Parade and a Beating of the Retreat which was held close to the Officers’ Mess at STC. Handlers, in No.1 Dress, showcased their Army Dog skills in a demonstration which was followed by the Retreat. It was particularly appropriate that the Band of 15th/19th The Kings Royal Hussars should, in conjunction with 1 ADTU, celebrate the Centenary of the formation of the Corps because in the 1860s the 15th Hussars were commanded by Lt Col Sir Frederick Fitzwygram Bart, FRCVS who, from 1879 to 1884 when he was retired from the Army, became the GOC of the Cavalry Brigade Aldershot and directly responsible for the formation of the RAVC. Preparations for the parade were intense and commanded a great deal of time – enough to likely reduce Frau Busch’s takings during 1981!24
21 Chiron Calling duplicated Issue No 9 dated March 1978.
22 Chiron Calling duplicated Issue No 14 dated October 1980.
23 A tetrathlon (from the numerical prefix “tetra” meaning four) is a team competition organized by Pony Clubs for its members. It is a variant of the modern
pentathlon, without fencing. Thus it comprises the four disciplines of shooting, swimming, riding and running. 24 Chiron Calling duplicated Issue No 15 dated April 1981.
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