Page 16 - Chiron Calling Autumn 2019

14 CHIRON CALLING
Has it ever crossed your mind how that medal made it into that cabinet or how that ancient letter found itself in that display? Where do all these pieces of RAVC military history come from? The answer is people like Ms Mary Corr.
Mary came to the DATR accompanied by her niece on a sunny day in mid- June. The purpose of her visit was to very generously donate a vast selection of truly immaculately kept treasures of RAVC history that had belonged to her father, WO1 (RSM) Michael Joseph Corr, whilst also gaining an understanding of the Corps her father had committed his career to and how it has developed since.
Mary’s visit began with a short presentation lead by Capt Adam Young outlining the history of the DATR and the RAVC in general. Mary and her niece were then taken on a guided tour of Remount Barracks where she was very happy to see such a large equine presence as she hadn’t expected to see any horses at all. The farrier major very kindly took the time to explain to her what goes on down at the forge and even showed her the wide variety of shoes they can make. This was accompanied by a tour around the veterinary facilities at the Veterinary Training School and lunch in the officers’ mess. Mary was most taken by the skilled army farriers working away at the fires and the Equine Training School overall was the highlight of her visit as this was the focus of her father’s career.
The visit ended with Mary presenting a fantastic selection of historical items to the Corps including her father’s original
warrant, medals, a great collection of photos illustrating her father’s time in the Corps and many other various documents including a couple of interesting Corps reunion menus with some somewhat dated food choices! Once signed over to our care the items were then sent to the Museum of Military Medicine in Aldershot where they have been collated into a wonderful display.
Marys father was WO1 (RSM) Michael Joseph Corr; he joined the then named Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) in 1906 and served during a period of great change for the Corps until he retired from the RAVC in 1932. His war time military career began with the great British defeat at the battle of Mons in 1914. Michael had demonstrated his intelligence early on in his career and after being a witness to such a defeat he deduced that the safest way to contribute more to the war effort was to move away from the front-line infantry unit he had joined, and to become involved with the transportation of horses. Michael found himself mainly based in France helping to manage the importation of war horses and provide care for those horses moving to and from the front line. Learning on the job he soon became a very proficient provider of animal husbandry in a role most equivalent to what these days we would know as a Veterinary Technician. Michael took full advantage of the many opportunities the army had to offer including furthering his education, learning a new trade and developing the new RAVC into a sociable and vibrant unit. Michael was a founding member of the
Mary and her niece discussing the medals
RAVC association and the items donated include the menu plan of the very first reunion dinner in 1921. He finished his successful and extremely varied career when he retired as a Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1932.
The memory WO1 Michael Joseph Corr will now live on and his incredible service will have a permanent place in the Corps history. I think the most impressive feature of his service was that he took advantage of every opportunity provided to him and this message is still appropriate to those serving today.
As a Corps we are extremely grateful to people like Mary Corr who have taken the time to donate incredible tales and treasures from their own personal family belongings so that we may learn about those gone before us, enriching our own minds and giving context to our unique piece in the puzzle that is the British army.
Miss Mary Corr’s visit to the Defence Animal Training Regiment (DATR) By Lt Whittaker