An Cosantóir

An Cosantóir February 2015 www.dfmagazine.ie 26 | by DR PAUL WATKINS A Time for Reflection V isitors to belgravia House, Horseferry Road, lon- don, may care to spend a few minutes studying the impressive, carved oak memorial commemorating those members of the Royal College of Veterinary Sur- geons (RCVS) who lost their lives in World War I. Sited on the stairwell leading to the lower ground floor, there is significant history attached to the memorial, described in Veterinary History (Volume 16, No 2, 2012), and which was unveiled on 7th April 1921 by the then president of the col- lege, Professor o Charnock bradley. The memorial commemorates the 67 veterinary surgeons that died whilst serving with British and Empire forces during the conflict. As we reflect on the centenary of the outbreak of the 'war to end all wars' it is a fitting tribute to the profession to describe the stories behind some of the names that appear on the memorial. A closer examination of the 67 men on the memorial reveals that 34 died of disease, 24 died of wounds and nine were killed in action. Of the latter group, the first to die was Lieutenant Vincent Fox MRCVS, whose obituary appeared in the Veterinary Record, 3rd October 1914, and simply read: Vincent Fox, MRCVS, Lieut AVC, Dublin: December 1911. It is only recently that the full story of this veterinary sur- geon's life, and the circumstances of his death, have come to light. Vincent Richard James Fox was an Irishman, who after his death was described as a man 'of the kindliest and sunniest nature.' He was born at Hacksballscross, Carrickas- tuck, County Louth, some six miles west of Dundalk, on 9th December 1889, the youngest of 10 children born to Patrick James Fox, a farmer, and his wife, Anne (neé Cummisky). Vincent's father died in 1890, his mother in 1908, and the 1911 census identifies that the family, now headed by the eldest son, Patrick (born 1871), had left Carrickastuck and were residing at 25 Quay Street, Dundalk. Vincent entered the Royal Veterinary College in Ireland in 1907, and graduated MRCVS in December 1911. He initially worked in Dundalk but in May 1912 he sailed to Calcutta, where he worked for RS Hart Bros, described as a 'Royal Horse Repository and Veterinary Infirmary' by its owner, Robert Spooner-Hart MRCVS. The work was varied, ranging from veterinary surgery to horse breeding and dealing, but the company also acted as consulting veteri- nary surgeons to the Calcutta Turf Club and HE Viceroy (Lord Hardinge). Spooner-Hart died from cholera in March 1914, and about that time Vincent Fox returned to Ireland where he worked for the Department of Agriculture. Although it was pre- dicted he would have done well in the department, he was keen to pursue a military career. As the storm clouds of war gathered over Europe in the summer of 1914, Fox received his commission, in the rank of lieutenant, on probation, in the Army Veterinary Corps, on 31st July 1914. He was one of four veterinary surgeons whose commission was listed in the London Gazette of 14th August. He obtained his uniform from W T Castle, Military Outfitters, of 23 Saville Row, London, for which he was invoiced a total of £22 18/-. Vincent Fox was one of the very first veterinary surgeons to depart to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), serving as brigade veterinary officer to 8 Infantry Brigade, 3 Division, II Corps, commanded by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien). Fox's brigade was based at Devonport, Plymouth, in August 1914 when orders were received to mobilise for war. One of Fox's first duties may have related to the horses supplied to the brigade as it was recorded that: 'Some of the heavy draught horses supplied were three years old and appeared never to have been broken to harness. The unsuit- able horses were exchanged.' The brigade arrived in Boulogne on 14th August and deployed north into Belgium. By 22nd August they were at Mons, facing the advancing German army. The position 1st Gordon Highlanders holding the line east of Caudry, on 26th August 1914, during the Battle of Le Cateau, by William Barnes Wollen (1857 - 1936)

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