Page 392 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
is positioned adjacent to 104 MWD Sqn. Albert’s visit, alongside his able friend, lent an opportunity for much reminiscing of times in Northern Ireland, and a long chat about Albert’s career in the Parachute Regiment and his time as a member of the Regiment’s display team, the Red Devils. Albert Owens at the time of writing, Albert is now in his mid-70s, is the busy custodian of the wonderful Memorial Garden at Palace Barracks in Holywood, which commemorates all the servicemen and woman who lost their lives in Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands conflict during 1982 and other worldwide Operations since. Those members of the RAVC who served in Belfast will have fond memories of ‘Palace’, and the local area no doubt! The RAVC purchased a metal RAVC Op BANNER Memorial bench for Palace Barracks, which was sited during the autumn of 2020. Its position in the Memorial Garden, in the company of the RAVC and other Regimental and Corps flags flying, provides a tangible link with the past and all those who served and who sacrificed.
The Doncaster Branch of the RAVC Association reported during October 1980, that the Branch would close after the 34th Annual Dinner dance which was held in April 1981. Inflation and the lack of support at Branch meetings were the main reasons cited, many of the former members having passed away, and there was a general lack of supporters with only ten people attending meetings.
The RAVC Association Melton Branch held its inaugural meeting on 21st December 1973 and was duly formed. Some sixty-one ex-RAVC personnel from the Melton area who met in the Sgts’ Mess, voted for the formation. All the normal official roles were filled from ex-Corps members, from President to the Committee members.
The Melton Branch RAVC Association continues to this day however, it would be remiss not to say numbers are dwindling and despite concerted efforts to re-invigorate the ‘Melton’ Branch it is very much an uphill struggle, with plenty of other distractions available, to recruit past Corps members in this modern era.
RAVC Corps Reunions remain very much part of the annual Corps calendar. Normally held in the summer months, the event moved from September (to avoid a clash with the BVA event) to June, when the ‘home’ of the Corps – the Melton Camp, now the Remount Barracks – became home to the Reunion. Normally, the event begins with a golf competition held on the Friday preceding the Corps weekend. On the Saturday, RAVC
Committee meetings are held with key personnel in attendance. Afterwards a traditional Memorial Parade is held and followed by the Annual General Meeting and a ‘Fireside Talk’ – a short brief on Corps activities and key events delivered by the most senior serving RAVC Officer. The conclusion of the Reunion is the traditional dinner now held in the DATR Gymnasium and followed by a less-formal event in the ‘all ranks’ bar. For those in search of a quieter ambience, there is the chance to gather in the WOs’ and Sgts’ Mess. Attendance is proving more problematic than in past years, so to encourage more attendance by the younger soldier, ticket prices are reduced and subsided by the Corps Benevolent Fund of which every single Corps member gives one day’s pay per annum.
The RAVC Benevolent Fund is also available for all Corps members should they fall upon hard times and regularly provides funding for those who need assistance. All matters such as these and other related Corps topics are discussed at the RAVC AGM held in the DATR at regular intervals.
Much of the work completed by the DATR and other designations of what the local population of Melton call the ‘Vet Camp’ could not be done without the genuine whole-hearted support of the entire community. Very often it is the kind use of the local farmers’ fields for the training of Police and Tracker dogs, or their farm buildings so often used for AES search work. It could be other businesses that welcome and open their doors to allow dog teams to learn their craft in ‘realistic’ environments with different scents, and with ‘real’ people moving around to create a challenging environment for the dog teams to experience.
The RAVC would like to thank all of our supporters in the local neighbourhood. Although it would be impossible to literally thank everyone by name, there are some locations that this author can recall – besides all the farms and landowners – and they include, ‘Chippy’ Dickson’s scrap yard, Melton Cinema, The Royal British Legion, The Working Men’s Club, Holwell Works, RDL, the Asfordby Gun Range and many, many more too numerous to mention. Mr Trevor Vernon, a local businessman and the owner of Tubes Night Club in Melton, being a very generous member of the community towards RAVC personnel. He was so generous, always allowing soldiers free entry into his night club and always extending a warm welcome to all members from the RAVC – ‘the Vet Camp’, as most Meltonians call the RAVC Base. His generosity is still very much talked about, even to this day, as are all the ‘fun and exciting’ times had
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