Page 393 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
by many a member of the RAVC.
In recognition of the unfailing support of the
local community, the RAVC frequently held a ‘Farmers Lunch’ at ‘the Vet Camp’ in order to show their gratitude. Also, every other year, the DATR opens its gates to the Public for an Open Day and visitors are allowed to view all parts of the DATR.
The Corps Publications:
During the 1960s, The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps – the maroon covered Journal complete with gold coloured embossed Corps badge – was published twice a year with wide input from all members of the Corps from all parts of the world. In Volume 41, dated Summer 1970, the Journal headline from the editor read: ‘The Army Board has decided the Royal Army Veterinary Corps is to be retained in its present role’. This was welcome news, indeed; a long period of uncertainty over the Corps future in the Army was now over.17
A few lines later it stated: ‘with the future of the Corps assured, what of the Journal?’ It is fair to say that the Corps Journal was struggling for survival. The rising costs of the production of the Journal, with its expensive format that everyone knew was prohibitive, prompted a comment in the standard editorial plea for help in almost every edition. Nothing has changed there. And so, the Journal, over the years, has gone from quarterly to tri-annual, to bi-annual, and then to an annual publication. The Summer 1970 edition became a compromise version with a slight reduction in quality – balancing the amount of copy against a marked reduction in production costs. Many questions were asked, such as, does the Corps really want a Journal? Indeed, a working group was later set up to ‘to consider the viability of the Journal of the RAVC, and to study its long-term finance, format, subscribers, distribution, editorial staff and possible affiliations; and to make recom- mendations’.
Sadly, the next edition reported that during the forty-two years of its existence, the Journal of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, ‘had fulfilled a useful purpose’. It was acknowledged that it had published excellent papers and faithfully recorded the affairs of the Corps and provided a valuable repository of Corps history. It was noted: “Our 1919 – 1961 history drew extensively on the Journal, which was a better source of reference than the official files, which naturally tend to be devoid of human interest.” And that, “...the Corps has
good reason to be grateful for the work of all the Journal’s editors and contributors...” Regrettably, the next announcement contained the words that few wanted to hear; that ‘the affairs of the Journal’ were to be wound up on 31st December 1971 and that Volume 42, Summer 1971, would be the last maroon coloured edition in that format.
Although there had been several duplicated versions distributed during 1966 and 1969, and from mid-1971 until, most likely, early spring 1973, the light green duplicated version of Chiron Calling was produced and distributed in a very small number. The first edition produced by the RAVC Training Centre was a very slim publication amounting to a foreword, and messages from the Director and the main RAVC Units only. Later editions went on to detail the movement of personnel and included many lighter and comical quips which many readers and contributors said they enjoyed very much.
The next glossy, professional editions of Chiron Calling commenced in the Summer of 1987 – the first one compiled and edited by Lt Col Peter Roffey.
Colonel Peter Roffey recalls, when he was the Adjutant in Melton during early 1987, a very smartly dressed lady came into his office saying she had an offer she thought I would not refuse. Her offer was to publish a Corps magazine for free. ‘’I quickly took her offer’’ and thus Chiron Calling was born in magazine form. Not by Crest quite at that time. A couple of years later, a newly created husband/wife company called Crest contacted me and offered a similar service, Crest still gives an absolutely first-rate service some thirty-four years on.18
Some thirty-four years later (2021), issues vary in content, but all are a balance of articles aimed at readers of all age groups and covering updates on current and future activities as well as past historical events. The editor is always looking for all kinds of news, diverse and interesting stories, and happenings from contributors. All make a connection with fellow members who receive a copy to their (up to date) postal address, and of course, it is available online to be viewed from anywhere in the world at http://ravc-association.org
It is worth repeating that the publication relies heavily on contributions from Corps members, past and present, because without such support the magazine would cease to exist. The Corps is fortunate to have Mr John Corbin BEM, who is the busy administrator who voluntarily runs an RAVC Facebook site where active members are welcome
17 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 41 dated Summer 1970.
18 Oral testimony Lt Col (Retd) P A Roffey OBE RAVC taken by Lt Col C Ham MBE RAVC dated 1st November 2021.
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