Page 88 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
CHAPTER 5
Cyprus: Playground of the Med?
“Well hello from the Island of Venus where the order of the day is brandy sours, Keo beer and cheap wines and at certain times of the year, large signs stating, “Danger road is slippery with grape juice”. To the uninitiated this may seem funny but believe me when hitting a patch at speed it soon wipes the smile off your face. The temperature is now starting to drop it was only 82 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday; life can be so cruel can’t it?”1
[Chiron Calling 1980]
A posting to Cyprus will mean many different things to Service personnel – depending, mainly, on the status of the Arab-Israeli war during the span of the tour. Periods of peace could make time on the Island a career highlight but war guaranteed a level of life-threatening uncertainty for the soldiers and the families in married quarters. Playground or political hot bed, Cyprus has played a special part in the history of the RAVC since 1939 and as part of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in the 1960s.
Timeline:
1954 British-controlled Cyprus is denied union with Greece.
1955 Anti-British riots and EOKA terrorist attacks lead to state of emergency.
1957 EOKA is forced to compromise.
1960 Cyprus gains independence.
1963 Relations deteriorate between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
1964 UN peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) moves in.
1974 Greek-Cypriot coup sparks Turkish invasion and division of the island.
2017 UN-sponsored re-unification talks collapse.2
This volume begins in 1962, but the above political timeline from 1954 sets the scene for Cyprus. It will have been documented previously; however the author feels it pertinent to set the background when exploring the RAVC’s activities from 1962 onwards. After all, only by considering what the past delivered, can subsequent achieve- ments be wholly appreciated.
Military Working Dogs played a crucial role in Cyprus’s developing identity, both as guard and
1 Chiron Calling No 14 dated 24th October 1980.
2 Extracted from the National Army Museum webpage.
3 Jennet being a small Spanish horse.
protector. Similarly, the skills and expertise of the handlers were invaluable.
Background
The origins of the RAVC in Cyprus can be traced back as far as 1939, when it was decided that the British Expeditionary Force would require five hundred pack animals to each front-line division. The Remount Purchasing Commission Cyprus formed Nos 1 and 2 Cypriot Pack Transport Companies with some eight hundred mules, or rather jennets3 that had seen service in France, Egypt and Italy to name but a few campaigns. The main aim of having the Pack animals was to save mechanised transport, petrol and tyres at a time when anything driven was at a premium.
By 1945 there were a total of seven Cypriot Pack Transport Companies, each having an RAVC Officer and three other ranks, in addition to locally trained soldiers or civilians. An Operational pack transport capability, as well as course instruction, remained a role performed by the Cyprus based Unit right up to March 1995 when financial constraints led to the demise of the island’s pack capability. Then the MWDs really came into their own.
During the mid 1980s, the Unit reported that, although few in numbers, it still carries out a variety of tasks on the Island. These included veterinary cover for all MoD animals; including the RAF at Akrotiri, Operational assistance, using Search dogs for all Units in the Sovereign Base (SBA), supporting UNFICYP (UN Forces in Cyprus); carrying out meat inspections, the provision of Protection dogs, and the training of handlers.
But what was the British Army doing in Cyprus
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