Page 32 - Chiron Winter 2020

Obituaries
Robert G Mares BA MRCVS DTVM DAP&E
Robert Mares was a distinguished veterinarian with a lifelong commitment to public service. A childhood spent in rural Essex, he matriculated at Brentwood School before going on to graduate from the Royal Veterinary College London in 1941.
After a short spell in private practice he saw military service in Iceland with the Royal Navy and then as a Captain in the RAVC. During his two years with the Corps (1944 to 1946) he travelled the length and breadth of the British Middle East war zone; from Alexandria and Cairo, to Palestine and Syria in the North and back down to Shellal and Aswan in Upper Egypt. At Selimiah in Syria he was responsible for inspection and purchase of cereals to feed the local population, liaising with the Arabs and accepting their famed hospitality ... “I ate with
my hands today and made such a mess of binding the boiled rice into suitable pellets that my genial host took over and kept presenting me with pessary like turds of greasy rice and meat - what I have done
for England!” (quotation from one
of his letters). Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Hama were also in his domain and he went up the north eastern border with Turkey. At
the end of the harvest and buying season, he was moved back to the Canal Zone and on to the Shellal
in Upper Egypt. Here, he was in charge of No. 4 Livestock Depot until demobilisation in 1946.
After returning to civilian life he married and spent a few years in practice in Sussex and Devon. In 1950 he took up an appointment with the Colonial Service as a Veterinary Officer in the Somaliland Protectorate. Appointment followed in the Gold Coast / Ghana (1952 to 1961) and Nyasaland / Malawi (1961
to 1973) where he became Director of Veterinary Services. On return to the UK he worked for the Ministry for Agriculture before returning
to Africa (Botswana) in 1979 to run the laboratory and teach at the Agricultural and Veterinary School in Gaborone. In 1982 he moved
to the Transkei in the Republic of South Africa as a helminthologist.
Upon retirement in Suffolk, Robert embarked on a new career completing a BA in African History from the School of Oriental and African Studies in 1995. He aimed to equip himself with the research skills to write a recent history of the RAVC, a project he had conceived decades earlier and had been invited to write by the Corps. In addition
to The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1961 -1996, Robert is the author and co-author of many published articles in scientific papers.
Robert died 10 April 2010 aged 91.
Donald Lionel Baxter
Baxter, Donald Lionel of St. Thomas, Ontario Canada passed away on Monday, May 11th, 2020, at his residence, at the age of 86. Dearly loved
husband of Catherine (Brosnan) Baxter and loved father of Steven Baxter (Sandra), Margaret Belliveau (Dan), Andrew Baxter (Marion) and Kevin Baxter. Loved grandfather of Adam and Mark Baxter, Patricia and Shannon and Sean Baxter and Xavier Belliveau. Sadly missed by family in England and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins.
Don was born in Ipswich, England on July 27th, 1933, the son of the late Ernest and Ethel (Spall) Baxter. He was a graduate of Chadacre Agricultural Institute in England.
He was a proud member of the
Royal Army Veterinary Corps from Feb 6, 1952 until Jan 31, 1955. Don and his Unit were honoured in marching in the Queen’s Coronation Parade in 1953.
Don and his wife Catherine immigrated to Canada in 1958. He enjoyed horses, particularly his favourite the Suffolk Punch breed from his home county in England. Don later purchased Suffolk Punch horses from England and brought them to Canada where he enjoyed raising, breeding and showing this rare draft horse. He worked for the Oxford and District Cattle Breeders Association. He also was a volunteer Fireman for a number of years.
Horse named Judy at the RAVC being trained by Corporal Don Baxter, belonged to Queen Elizabeth and was being trained as one of her choices, but was not chosen.
James A Rogers
(Jim)
James Rogers was commonly known by his friends as Jim and dad by his family. Jim was born on 1st October 1928 and sadly passed away on 13th September 2020.
Jim served 30 years and dedicated his life to the RAVC with his passion for horses as well as dogs. Dad would often talk to the family about his early days in the RAVC at the Remount Depot in Melton Mowbray where he would often be seen talking to his mates and anyone about his stories while serving in the RAVC. He would often recount stories of his service in the Far East and the many friends that he and our Mum Annie had made in the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess.
Jim’s last posting was Canada where he enjoyed the wildlife and travelling and fishing. Sadly, our Mum also died on 17th January 2019 and ever since our Dad Jim could not console himself. But, at least we are glad that we were able to thoroughly spoil him during his final year of his life.
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