Page 50 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
members were first required to do a drill course and a weapons course for approximately one month before taking up their respective duties.
There were other personnel on site too including the ‘heavy gang’ or, more correctly, the Labour Section which consisted of approximately twenty-five men. They were employed by Brigade to do any heavy work such as tent erecting, unloading of supply trains, food, ammunition, barrack stores, or any heavy types of fatigues. These men were very useful contacts as monthly visits to inspect the dogs at RAF Gatow were not merely social visits, they were also an opportunity to scrounge any stores required.
When the RAVC in Berlin was covered in the Journal in 1967, the following quote reflected the high esteem in which the men in Germany were held:
“I recently met some men of the Queens Own Highlanders who did a course in 1960 – 62 in Singapore and I was pleased with the very high regard and respect they hold our men and Corps.”12
Belgium – the Emblem Dog Section
For a few very fortunate RAVC SNCOs a posting to the Antwerp Dog Section was seen as a plum posting – part of British Forces Antwerp. Ant- werp was a vital link in the supply and commu- nication chain from the UK to BAOR. They were often known as Britain’s Forgotten Army.
Over two hundred British personnel controlled and supervised the movement of personnel and equipments through the Low Countries to Germany – their principal task being to establish the line of communication throughout the Low Countries and to funnel reinforcements through to Germany. In the reverse direction, their role was to ensure the safe evacuation of British families and non-combatants.
Emblem, a very small town close to Antwerp, was the focus of much military activity including for the RAVC.
At the Ordnance Depot a substantial supply of spares and other materiel were accounted for in what was known as the Communication Zone (Comm Z). A number of vehicles used for Exercises, largely by the TA, were held in the Vehicle Supply Depot. And one RAVC SNCO was posted to the Dog Section at Emblem Barracks where they lived as a Belgian citizen, complete with local ID cards and a car registered and plated accordingly. As the only RAVC cap badged soldier in the Comm Z,
the SNCO oversaw the daily management of local handlers. He was directly accountable to Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) the NATO HQ.
There were twenty Army dogs stationed at Emblem – a mix of Guard and Security dogs, as well as an AES dog which was handled by the RAVC SNCO. The Guard dogs were handled by English speaking civilians and their role was to patrol the Vehicle Supply Depot which held over five thousand, seven hundred vehicles in vast storage buildings. At a later date the SNCO came under direct control of the RAVC Unit in Sennelager and the two locations shared a close relationship in that dogs were initially posted to Sennelager before being re-deployed to Emblem. The canine accommodation at this time was the customary wooden or Melton kennels and veterinary support was provided by local veteri- narians.
Writing from the Ordnance Depot Antwerp (BR) Comm Z, where he was the Dog Supervisor, Sgt ‘Black Mac’ McNeil RAVC reminded us that Belgium was the birthplace of the Sennelager Unit, BAOR DASU RAVC. In his account of his Service, Sgt Terry McNeil wrote that it was from Brussels, in 1945, that Major George Young MBE, later to be DAVRS, moved an Army Dog Unit to Sennelager. Forty two years on, Army Dogs were still in Belgium doing an invaluable security job for the Antwerp base with locally employed patrolmen handlers.13
Kenya and East Africa
Readers of the spring of 1962 issue of the Journal would be impressed to learn that the number of Corps personnel serving in East Africa had dou- bled but in reality that meant the numbers had risen from two to four! Sgt Frank Robinson and SSgt Jim Rogers arrived late in 1961 to assist the East African Army Wardens (EAAW) to train dogs and handlers. The organisation, which existed to guard installations in the Nairobi and Gilgil ar- eas, was commanded by an ex-RAVC member, a Mr A Boxall.14
Horses and Exercises
In 1962, the Troop in East Africa was commanded by a Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) Officer who had completed the Equitation Course in Melton in 1958/59. Two RAVC SNCOs were with the EAAW in Nairobi, by all accounts, ‘...doing a wonderful job’. Both, by then, Class 1 Dog Trainers, one had
12 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 38 No1 Summer 1967 article entitled ‘The RAVC in Berlin.’
13 Chiron Calling dated November 1987.
14 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 33 No 1 Spring 1962.
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