Page 92 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
signs of settling in...the Unit held the Army Dog trials in April 1962 and reported that they were a great success, despite the aging population of dogs. The consensus of opinion was that they ‘put up a sterling performance despite a very windy and dusty day, in front of three thousand spectators and £360 was collected for charity’. The resilience of the dogs and handlers in the midst of a war on terror says so much about the hardy characters involved at the time. And there were more to join them.
Around the same time, the Unit welcomed two Cpls and twelve Tprs from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, from Benghazi. They came to undertake a five-week dog handler’s course and were presented with completely untrained dogs to achieve, what must have been something of a record, by passing out with flying colours after the allotted five weeks! Due to the good standard attained, a full pass out parade was arranged by Major John Clifford and an inspection by the Deputy Commander Dhekelia Area. The handlers were then off for a tour of duty in Northern Ireland.7
Static names/bases were seen very rarely in reports of the time. In the Unit and Command Organisation, the only static name had been that of the 3 WDTU. The SV&RO (Senior Veterinary and Remount Officer) started off, in 1960 with HQ, MELF (Middle East Land Forces). In 1961 this became HQ NEARELF (Near East Land Forces) and HQ MELF. Later in 1961 it lost HQ MELF. In 1962 HQ TROOPS MALTA and LIBYA was added on and at the end of 1962 the Unit changed from HQ NEARELF to HQ CYPRUS DISTRICT. It was reported this made the filing system look ridiculous, but no matter as the Unit continued to supply the same service to the same people in the same places.
Dogs continued to arrive by ship with RAVC escorts and it was reported that one had a long and bad trip due to MV Karnak being hove to, in a storm just off Cyprus for three days and no one could get in or out, so the handler was temporarily installed at the Famagusta dog section. Another random story from the reports of the day centred on how the Unit acquired a horse. The horse was meant for the Federal Regular Army in Aden, but Cyprus reported having difficulty in moving it down there. The magnificent horse box that had been specially manufactured was stuck in Aden
and it was proving difficult to move it back through the Canal. The OC was not at all concerned as he enjoyed riding out every day to go and view the dog training and he said that it made his life simpler. Again, still at the centre of political upheaval, the Unit reported that it continued to function in its components’ respective places with a family in Tripoli and a JNCO in Malta. Cpl Ted Parsons continued to control the Western Area of Cyprus – dog wise.8
Thankfully, someone took the time to put pen-to-paper during the Emergency situation to provide a little history on the dogs that were out there doing their duty for Queen and country. On this occasion it was Brigadier John Clifford RAVC who reminisced in his notes:
Following in Father’s Footsteps.
Army dog Heron had been such a good Tracker dog during the Cyprus Emergency that it was decided to mate him with Sheba a Labrador belonging to Major Mickey Gibbs, who gave the two pups to the Army as recruits. Hawk and Raven both served successfully as Army Tracker dogs in Cyprus for the next nine years.9
The following story, shared by Hawk and Raven ‘in person’, made its way into Soldier Magazine in 1963:
“Aeooo...oo – Just couldn’t resist a bit of a yawn. Tiring business, this Army life, especially when you are only nine weeks old like me, and my brother who’s on the right and that’s our dad, the big one in the middle, with the collar on in front of Major John Clifford RAVC. He looks after 3 WDTU at Dhekelia. Dad's been a tracker in the Army for years, and now me and my brother are following in his footsteps. We are only doing boys’ service at the moment, but in a few months time we start proper training. We’ve drawn our first equipment, that’s collars, feeding bowls, brushes and combs. Had some jabs as well, against liver disease and distemper. You know it’s true what they say on them posters, it’s a real dog’s life in the modern Army.”10
In April of the same year (1963), it was business as usual for the Annual Dog Trials jointly organised by the Cyprus District Provost Company, RMP and 3 WDTU RAVC. Entrants came from as far as Malta and Tripoli, and to attract the crowds the massed bands of the Rifle Brigade, the Cyprus Police band, the band of Greek Army Contingent and the Band of the Turkish Army Contingent in Cyprus joined forces. By all accounts it was a memorable day with a capacity crowd of five thousand who helped raise £659 for charity. A month after the Trials, Paddy O’Shea arrived from
7 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 33 No 2 Autumn 1962.
8 The Journal of The Royal Army Veterinary Corps Volume 34 No 1 Spring 1963.
9 Notes provided to Lt Col Chris Ham MBE RAVC by Brigadier (Retd) John Clifford.
10 Soldier Magazine dated June 1963.
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