Page 58 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
within the Unit. To mark the final handover of duties 5 Gurkha Coy very kindly presented the new Guard Dog Detachment with a handsome silver cup, which was to be awarded to the best all-round dog handler every three months. It was hoped that this would stimulate a spirit of competition in sport and work.39
As the Unit entered the 1970s, RAVC personnel were settled into the role of sole possessors of Mowbray Camp, although there had been a reoccurrence of the dreaded disease – Tropical Canine Pancytopenia (TCP) – which had resulted in several canine deaths. However, the VO reported that, in general, the dogs were in a good state of health which everyone hoped would continue particularly as scientists at Porton Down and from the US Armed Forces reported on break- through research work.
TCP – infectious and often fatal, the disease was characterised by haemorrhage, pancytopenia, and severe emaciation. It appeared more frequently in the German Shepherd and was therefore responsible for the death of numerous military dogs in Southeast Asia. The most striking clinical sign of the disease is a sudden onset of epistaxis in an apparently healthy dog. Pathological findings consist of petechial and ecchymotic haemorrhages on serosal and mucosal surfaces of numerous organs.40
Despite the rundown in Far East Land Forces (FARELF), morale remained high. The Unit’s plan to disband in November 1970 resulted in the completion of guard duties being on a reduced scale and efforts were concentrated on reset- tlement courses – the aim being that every man would have trained in a civilian occupation by the time the Unit closed.41
Although the Singapore Unit was running down and many personnel were leaving, it continued to be a busy section with Guard dog duties being carried on until October. All activities were on a reduced scale as some of the depots had closed despite many people from the Unit still being on resettlement training. Meanwhile, the training staff had been indoctrinating the Singapore Police Force in the art of dog handling and, as a result, produced twelve dog handlers, as well as the Singaporeans re-classifying a number of Guard dogs to Security dogs.
In the later part of 1970 the Singapore Police Dog Section were utilising some of the kennels at Mowbray Camp, a move that turned out to be an
39 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 40 Summer 1969. 40 Experimental Parasitology Volume 31, Issue 1 February 1972.
41 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 41 Summer 1970.
admirable agreement – particularly when dealing with parking tickets. The changing of the guard at Mowbray Camp also saw four RAVC JNCOs – Cpl’s Muthapitchay, Oh Chin Tiong, Domingo Felix and Ramakrishnan – together with two Police NCOs passing the B3 Dog Trainers exam. Cpl Muthapitchay and Oh Chin Tiong, went on to the Singapore Armed Forces, whilst Domingo Felix and Ramakrishnan joined the Police and Securicor (Singapore) respectively. It was reported that Securicor (Malaya) had almost become an RAVC detachment as it had absorbed so many ex-handlers.
On 25th November 1970, the RAVC flag was lowered for the last time at Mowbray Camp and replaced by 70 Gurkha Training Squadron RE, the new landlords. The brief ceremony was attended by the remaining RAVC personnel and represent- atives from the Singapore Guard Regiment who bade farewell to Mowbray Camp and retired, as tradition demanded, to ‘Ye Taylors Shoppe’.
The only British troops left in the Far East at this time were a Gurkha battalion in Brunei and the Hong Kong garrison. Although most of the British troops had withdrawn from Singapore by October 1971, a small contingent of British, Australian and New Zealand forces stayed on as a token military presence.
Britain officially completed its military withdrawal from Singapore at sundown on 31st March 1976, ending 157 years of service on the strategic island state, saying farewell to former colonial rulers who became Commonwealth partners and friends and, as firm friends, British Forces left Singapore with a final valediction in the courteous local tongue...
“Selamat Jalan – Selamnt Tinggal Singapura.”
The spirit of the Singapore reunion and the importance of such events to veterans was captured by Ian Reid and Jock Whitehouse in their article: Melton Reunion – June 2008:
With the usual venue for their Spring Reunion unfortunately unavailable, a group of ex-No. 3 AGDU (Singapore) men thought they returned to the mountain with the possibility of visiting the new-build DAC to be a possible alternative. Ian Reid masterminded the proposal which developed into a short ‘hotel break’ plus a comprehensive visit to the DAC in early June. Even though some of the regulars were missing there was a reasonable attendance over the two days when some newcomers (Roy Hatfield, Alf Smith – see the last edition of Chiron Calling – Ken Livesey
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