Page 6 - Chiron Spring/Summer 2023

WHAT MADE YOU WANT
TO JOIN THE ARMY?
I joined as I wanted a sense of adventure and wanted to travel, I could not stay on my parent’s farm as I suffered from hay fever badly, so the Army was my choice.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE RAVC?
I was fortunate at the selection centre to be chosen for the RAVC, as competition was fierce, but almost certainly not as fierce as it is today. A passion for working with animals was noted during my assessments. I was also selected to go the the REME and R Signals, but I decided on the RAVC. A few days later I travelled to Melton to visit the RAVC Training Centre and I was hooked. I was
told that I would need to complete 18 weeks basic Infantry training at Bassingbourne, and off I went to complete that successfully.
AS A RECRUIT IN THE RAVC WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
On completion of basic training I arrived at Melton, I then completed my Basic Dog Handlers Course and a Remount Course, consisting of six weeks riding and six weeks pack transport training; prior to starting my Class 3 Dog Trainers Course.
WHERE WAS YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT?
During 1979 I was posted to Sennelager as a Dog Trainer, where at the time there were about 500
An interview
with Lieutenant
Colonel (Retired)
Chris Ham MBE,
RAVC Association
Chairman
Army dogs in Germany, mainly Guard or Protection dogs. Their role was to guard the many barracks and ammunition compounds along with their handlers - my job was to train dogs as required for that purpose.
DID YOU SERVE IN
NORTHERN IRELAND?
Yes I completed four tours of
duty in the Province, during the Troubles, seven years in total.
The first tour was an AES handler working in many locations, such
as Belfast City and south Armagh, both very different environments
to handle a search dog. The city where we had to search the Divis Flats complex, derelict buildings, and also “bomb watch” which was the searching of many city centre shops, before they closed for hidden cassette incendiaries or IEDs. In south Armagh, it was searching the boundaries of fields, many miles
of country lanes and their culverts. My second tour was as the SSgt in charge of licensing all the dog teams in Province, ensuring they were fit for operations. Next came 3.5 years as the Admin Officer/2IC of ADU. My last post in NI was as the last OC of ADU.
WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE POSTING YOU HAD?
Undoubtedly Hong Kong was an exciting vibrant city that never
rests. I was a Platoon Sgt on the Hong Kong/Sino Border working
with fantastic HK Chinese soldiers, who handled the Sweep dogs and Tracker dogs to apprehend Illegal Immigrants. I later returned to Sek Kong as the Chief Trainer, due to the impending handover of the Colony, however, sadly we had to reduce the size of the unit from 256 personnel down to 56, before HK DASU’s complete disbandment.
DID YOU SEE ANY OTHERS ASPECTS OF ASIA WHILST
IN HONG KONG?
I was fortunate to be selected
to complete the Jungle Warfare Instructors Course in Brunei -
the aim was to reintroduce the
use of Infantry Patrol dogs and Trackers dogs into the jungle. Sadly bureaucratic issues thwarted the
4 / Chiron Calling