Page 48 - Chiron Calling Autum 2021/Spring 2022

surgeons in the Australian Army had been British. In 1897 the first graduates from the Melbourne Veterinary College joined as volunteers and included EA Kendall. On 11 October 1899, the South African War commenced with a total of 16,715 men from Australia serving in the war. Twenty-five of these were veterinarians, including 15 Melbourne graduates. Over the three years of the war to 1902, the Australians fought against the Boer Republic.
After Federation the colonial armies were transferred to the Commonwealth Military Forces. The position of veterinarians in the Army was consolidated within a Veterinary Department. In 1909 the Veterinary Department became the Australian Army Veterinary Corps.
After South Africa the Australian veterinarians, who had been deployed on
a regimental
his spare time tending his horse. This helped reduce the death rate and strengthened the relationship between them.
It was planned that horses would be used in the Gallipoli campaign and there were 6,100 horses on 30 transport ships waiting to be landed. However, it became apparent early in the campaign that there was little role for horses. Few were landed with most of the horses went back
to Egypt.
After Gallipoli divisions were
reformed in Egypt in 1916 the 1st
to 5th Divisions were transferred
to France in 1916 where they
served until the end of the war.
An Australian Veterinary Hospital went with them and was established near Calais. The hospital could accommodate 1,250 horses and had an establishment of seven officers and 459 men. Twenty-five thousand
During the Second World War most veterinary units served in Australia, with only a few overseas. Those in Australia were busy in the early months of the war in Veterinary Hospitals and in Light Horse Regiments, but this activity only lasted for a comparatively short period. The main overseas veterinary activity was in New Guinea with the two Horse Pack transport Companies.
They also operated with the messenger pigeons, during the Second World War in the pacific. Many messenger pigeons were sent as reinforcements to New Guinea, It was found, however, that the sudden change of climate and the humid conditions were very detrimental
to these young birds and usually caused an outbreak of croup. To overcome this difficulty, Army Breeding Lofts were established
to breed pigeons in the area in which they were to operate. A very similar way of thought to today when special forces soldiers buy pack animals from locals instead of bringing them from Australia. This ensures the animals are not only already predisposed to the climate, terrain and working conditions but to the local diet as well.
The AAVC was an integral part
of the Australian Army from its formation in 1909 until its demise
in 1946. The veterinary members served Australia over this time in peace and in wars by providing expertise and a high standard of professionalism. The names of those who served in all wars are displayed on the Roll of Honour Boards at Melbourne and Sydney Veterinary Schools.
In 2015 the Australian War Animal Memorial Organization (AWAMO) established a memorial at the Mudgeeraba Light Horse Museum in Queensland to honour all Veterinarians of the AAVC.
In recent years the ADF has reintroduced a Veterinary Officers into the service. Major Kendall Crocker, also a member of AWAMO.
basis under
British
officers with
little support
from trained
subordinates
who had
found this system unsatisfactory. These Australian experiences were valuable precursors to the problems which unfolded on a vastly greater scale little more than a decade
later. When World War I began on 4 August 1914, the first contingent of the AIF left Australia on1 November 1914 and consisted of approximately 20,000 men and 7,843 horses. There were nineteen veterinary officers in this contingent and these were the first of about 125 veterinarians who were to serve during the war. All up, over 140,000 Australian horses plus numerous mules and donkeys would be treated by the AAVC.
During transportation by ship to the war zones special stalls were built for the horses below decks and the light horsemen worked very hard to care for their mounts and exercise them in the limited space available. Some Walers died on the voyage and all of them suffered terribly in the tropics. Each man spent much of
Out of an animal strength in the Fifth Division of 5,500, a total of 2,478 horses were wasted
animals were treated during the eighteen months of its existence.
Animal wastage
resulted from
animals killed in fighting or having to be destroyed
for a variety of reasons. During the greater part of the service of the AIF in France battle casualties were from shell and bomb wounds and from poisonous gases. Adverse climatic and environmental conditions
also determined the incidence of animal wastage. Other losses were from situations which occur under normal conditions but were more severe during war. An indication of the extent of these losses is shown in a report from the Somme in the winter of 1916-1917. Out of an animal strength in the Fifth Division of 5,500, a total of 2,478 horses were wasted.
In both France and the Middle East Mobile Veterinary Sections were established to take horses from the front as rapidly as possible to safer positions behind the lines. From these first aid posts horses were treated and their wounds dealt with before going back to hospital or to remount depots.
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