Australian Veterinary Hospital

Shoulder patch

Australian Veterinary Hospital at Calais AWM E04439

Calais, France. 31 March 1919. A horse float used for conveying sick horses at the Australian Veterinary Hospital. AWM E04468

Brief History

This unit was an existing unit of the Australian Military, established in 1909. During the First World War 120 officers of the Australian Army Veterinary Corps (AAVC) served overseas with the Australian Imperial Force in Egypt and France. Veterinarians treated animals with wounds and injuries, and inoculated them against dangerous diseases if vaccines were available. They also looked after their teeth.

Horses were often injured when they stepped on nails. The nail injury was called a 'PUN', which stood for 'picked-up nail'. Nails became a common source of lameness because they were left in the ashes of burned packing boxes, which were raked out onto roadways on the Western Front.

Three men associated with this unit died, one in England, one in France and one in Australia.

Unit Personnel

• Roby Helliwell 17 May - 13 Oct 1917
• Sidney John Richards 18 Dec 1918 - 7 Apr 1919

Individual Honours

• 2 x Meritorious Service Medal
• 1 x Mentioned in Despatches