An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 27 of British troops was such that there was a real risk of their being cut off by the two-pronged advance of the Germans. Therefore, the commander- in-chief of the BEF, Field Marshal Sir John French, ordered a retreat. Over the following days the British forces attempted to withdraw and by 25th August 8 Brigade were positioned in the town of Audencourt, to the east of Le Cateau. Here Smith-Dorrien deployed the bulk of his troops around Le Cateau to provide support for the men of I Corps as they retreated on his eastern flank. He was 'advised' by the French to withdraw but informed the commander-in-chief that he was unable to move any men, and that he had decided to stand and fight. In many regiments the order was repeated: 'Gentlemen, we will stand and fight.' The Battle of Le Cateau took place on Wednesday 26th August, and the headquarters of 8 Brigade were initially sited in a farm in Audencourt, with their vehicles parked in the farmyard. The brigade diary reported that: 'No field ambulance and no medical officers being available, the wounded were taken into a church, a very solid stone structure, and here Lt V Fox AVC took charge and dressed the wounded.' At about noon the brigade headquarters came under a sustained artillery barrage and it was de- cided to move south, moving the horses to a nearby orchard. The wounded, being treated by Lt Fox were to be left in the church, since it was believed the Germans would not fire on the building, and even if they did it was deemed strong enough to withstand shellfire. At 2.30pm the Germans commenced to vigorously shelling the town, with disastrous consequenc- es. Shelling of the orchard led to the death of all the horses held there. The order was given to start to retreat, but in the late afternoon the church was shelled. Witnesses described how the spire was hit, followed by an explosion and the building caught fire. At least one high-explosive shell entered the building, causing substantial damage and destruction, and resulting in the death of Lt Fox. His family were later to receive reports that his body was found, 'without a mark or scar on it', indicating that he died as a result of primary blast injury. Lt Fox was buried in the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery at Caudry (British Cemetery) which contains the remains of many other men who died at the Battle of Le Cateau, including 2/Lt Ronald Ross (the son of Nobel Laureate, Sir Ronald Ross), who was serving with 2 Bn, Royal Scots Regiment. Lt Vincent Fox died whilst treating human, not animal, patients, clearly demonstrating his commit- ment to the treatment of the sick, regardless of circumstance or species. Although so little was writ- ten about his actions at the time in the veterinary press, an obituary in his local paper, the Dundalk Democrat, described that he was 'Killed whilst in pursuit of his humane duty behind the British firing line. A man could not well die a nobler death.' An inspection of the memorial at Belgravia House reminds us that many veterinary surgeons paid the ultimate price of service for King and Country over the four years that followed Vincent Fox's death, and for several their stories remain largely untold. RCVS memorial in Belgravia House. Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery at Caudry A group picture from the OTC, Royal Veterinarian College, Dublin, dated 1915 Lt Vincent Fox MRCVS Drawing of Lt Fox, by Dave Gleeson

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