Page 47 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
attacking British troops, their families, members of the local security forces or any supporters of the government. Although Special Air Service (SAS) operatives were covertly deployed against the terrorists, the NLF’s campaign of intimidation made it difficult for the security forces to gather intelligence, as the local population was unwilling to co-operate.
Throughout 1964, the British Government continued to reduce its Imperial commitments and ultimately announced that the newly formed FSA would be granted independence by 1968. It was intended that some British forces would stay on in Aden but two years later, came the announcement that they would be withdrawn immediately on independence, a decision that left few locals trusting that the existing FSA government would survive without British support. As the NLF escalated their attacks, a second Nationalist group, the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen (FLOSY), launched its own series of terrorist activities against the security forces.
By January 1967, the supporters of both groups were rioting in the old Arab quarter of Aden and continued until mid-February, despite the inter- vention of British troops. Morale amongst the local security forces was now at an all-time low and on 20th June 1967 a mutiny in the Federation Army spread to the local police. The intervention of the mutineers escalated the situation to a new level when they fired on a lorry carrying troops from the Royal Corps of Transport – eight soldiers were killed. Although order was quickly restored, rumours that the British were shooting mutineers re-ignited the hostilities. A number of ambushes in the Crater area of Aden resulted in the deaths of a dozen more soldiers, including men from The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers and The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Two weeks later, Lieutenant Colonel Colin Mitchell led the Argylls back into Crater, which was re-occupied in a blaze of publicity.2
Animal Magic:
As the political unrest persisted, the needs of the animals in the region continued to be met by the Corps. Risking the bullets and bombs of the terrorist activity became a ‘normal’ part of attending to their string of patients. Many stories were told about saving of camels in distress but it was the tale of “Salain” that made it onto the pages of Soldier Magazine in 1963:
2 Extracted from the National Army Museum Website.
3 Soldier Magazine dated August 1963.
4 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 35 No 1 Summer 1964.
5 Soldier Magazine dated December 1964.
“Salain” Goes Sick...
A scorching sun beat down on sweltering Aden as “Salain” the camel limped up to sick parade. A sprained shoulder muscle was diagnosed and the cure? Heat treatment! If ever Salain needed a good reason to look disdainful, he had one now. Heat treatment for a camel who had spent his life in the desert. What an idea! But Sergeant Lawrence (Paddy) O’Shea, of the RAVC whose role in Aden was to improve animal management in the Federal Army and Trucial Oman Scouts, ignored Salain’s incredulous expression and produced an infra-red lamp.
Sergeant O’Shea was examining the patrol and ceremonial camels belonging to the Regular Army of the Federation of Southern Arabia when he came upon this particular patient. With a lamp borrowed from the MO of a local Battalion, the camel was subjected to his undignified treatment. For half an hour each day the lamp was trained on Salain’s shoulder until after 10 days, his limp had disappeared. Not one sign of gratitude crossed Salain’s disdainful features as he plodded back to his regiment. Heat treatment for a camel! He was trying to recover from the indignity of it all.3
Sgt Paddy O’Shea’s little empire in Aden was something that he looked after extremely well – but it too was diminishing. Many thought that he was well in line for the award of ‘Corps member to run-up the most air miles’ and that was probably the case as each month the Sgt completed a round-trip of 2,500 miles visiting the Trucial Oman Scouts to examine their horses. On one visit by the VO a camel was purchased, an event which led to a great deal of amusement and leg pulling by the camel drivers of FRA who had the VO examining and testing several of the animals before one was selected. As the Journal of summer 1964 noted – the name ‘Ship of the desert’ is certainly no misnomer.4
For the Trucial Scouts in the Arabian Peninsula, arguments were often simply and expediently settled by one party shooting the other. However, even this quick and decisive action was not always final as, traditionally, it led to a prolonged, full-scale shooting match between whole tribes. Men of the Trucial Oman Scouts knew this pattern of behaviour better than anyone else in the world which explained why one of their essential tasks was to step in before the tribal disputes reached boiling point or a shooting. The Scouts, perhaps one of the most spectacular armies in the world, were responsible for keeping a form of effective peace in the Trucial States.5
39