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Horses, Mules, and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in the Great War

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Horses, Mules, and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in the Great War University of Calgary PRISM: University of Calgary's Digital Repository Graduate Studies The Vault: Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2016 "Maintaining the Mobility of the Corps:" Horses, Mules, and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in the Great War McEwen, Andrew McEwen, A. (2016). "Maintaining the Mobility of the Corps:" Horses, Mules, and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in the Great War (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26813 http://hdl.handle.net/11023/3296 doctoral thesis University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission. Downloaded from PRISM: https://prism.ucalgary.ca UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY “Maintaining the Mobility of the Corps:” Horses, Mules, and the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps in the Great War by Andrew Scott McEwen A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN HISTORY CALGARY, ALBERTA SEPTEMBER, 2016 © Andrew Scott McEwen 2016 Abstract Animal transportation played a crucial role in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the Great War. In an era of growing mechanization and technological development, horses and mules still provided the overwhelming bulk of draught power in the combat zone. They hauled artillery, supplies, and ambulances, packed ammunition, served as officers’ riding mounts, and chargers for cavalrymen. By the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the CEF alone utilized 24,134 horses and mules in France and Belgium. The task of overseeing their health and working efficiency fell to just a few officers and enlisted personnel of the Canadian Army Veterinary Corps (CAVC). Only 73 Veterinary Officers and 780 Other Ranks presided over this truly living and breathing transportation system. They treated diseases, wounds, exhaustion, malnourishment, and exposure to the elements. They saved what animals they could, and humanely destroyed those they could not. They were, in the words of Canadian Corps commander Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, essential for “maintaining the mobility of the Corps.” However, their contributions remain largely overlooked in the prevailing historiography. Neither the multifaceted literature exploring the conflict’s impact on Canadian society, nor the considerable scholarship on the CEF in France and Flanders, seriously considers the role played by Canadian horses and veterinarians in the war. A few monographs, book chapters, and journal articles acknowledge these crucial facets, though they too remain largely insular and do not connect the services of horses and veterinarians to the war’s broader chronology. This dissertation seeks to redress such omissions. It argues that Canada’s horses and mules, and the veterinary efforts to keep them healthy, exerted a clear impact on combat operations in the Great War. It explores their foundations in pre-war society Canadian to understand how both ii became key facets of the Dominion’s war effort, and further emphasizes the broader British Imperial context both served within overseas. Utilizing a broad array of war diaries, weekly casualty reports, government publications, internal correspondence, and contemporary periodicals from Canadian and British sources alike, this study exhibits how horses, mules, and veterinarians critically impacted Canada’s Great War experience. iii Acknowledgements In many ways, this dissertation represents the culmination of my professional and personal interests. Growing up, I developed a keen interest in British and Canadian military history, fueled by visits to battlefields and historic sites both in Canada and abroad, that carried me through my university career. This study also reflects a spirit of family history, for I am very much a product of the Canadian veterinary profession. My parents, Dr. Scott McEwen and Dr. Beverly McEwen (née Poitras) met while studying at the Ontario Veterinary College. My paternal grandfather, Dr. Kenneth McEwen, graduated from OVC in 1951, as did my maternal uncle, Dr. Barry Poitras, in 1977, and my maternal aunt and uncle Dr. Gilda Poitras and Dr. Reg Westgarth in 1979. This dissertation, then, forms my own small contribution to that proud tradition of animal health and veterinary science, reconciling as it does my love of history and interest in my family’s past. There are a number of individuals I wish to acknowledge for helping me in any number of ways during the completion of this project. Foremost I thank the wonderful support of my supervisor, Dr. Patrick Brennan, whose kind ear, cheerful encouragement, and open mind made him an ideal advisor and mentor for my doctoral studies. My departmental committee members, Drs. John Ferris and David Marshall, always provided eager conversation, sound advice, and suggestions for new ideas throughout my studies. My external committee members, Dr. Robert Huebert and Dr. Tim Cook, extended critical suggestions on improving my dissertation into the future, and I remain grateful for their time and efforts. Other faculty members in the department, namely Drs. Hendrik Kraay, George Colpitts, Mark Konnert, Holger Herwig, and Frank Stahnisch, provided professional guidance and advice in the research, teaching, and writing of my degree. A very special thanks, too, to the Department of History’s administrative staff, Lori Somner, Marion McSheffrey, Brenda Oslawsky and Diane McInnes, for their invaluable assistance over the years. iv Completion of this degree was also made possible through generous funding from a number of agencies. The Department of History, Graduate Students’ Association, and the Faculty of Graduate Studies at the University of Calgary, the Government of Alberta, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Métis Education Foundation, the Arthur J.E. Child Memorial Foundation, the Captain Nichola K.S. Goddard Memorial Foundation, and the Frog Lake Energy Resources Corporation all lent generous financial resources for teaching, conference and research travel, and living expenses through the course of my degree. I remain profoundly grateful for their generosity. Researching and writing a dissertation can, at times, feel a very lonesome and isolating task. Nevertheless, I was very fortunate indeed to enjoy a peer support network of like-minded graduate students that both indulged “shop talk” and provided badly-needed distractions away from said talk. Will Pratt and I shared many a conference hotel billet, archive research room, and organized a very successful Great War conference in 2014. I am lucky I shared an office with him, along with Stuart Barnard and Mikkel Dack, during my formative years at Calgary. My other colleagues and friends, Shannon Murray, Ryan Blaney, Beau Cleland, Aylin Attila, Erna Kurbegovic, Avram Lytton, Matthew Hefler, Kathryn Griffin, Amber Adair, Geoff Adair, and Dorian Klepach, all provided guidance, encouragement, and welcome distractions from the pressures of graduate school from 2010 to 2016. Any names I missed are entirely the fault of my own, though I am certain any aggrieved parties will not hesitate to remind me as such. Too much cannot be said for the stolid support, calming demeanour, and boundless love of Melanie Wedel. Over the past four years, Melanie learned far more about mange, glanders, remount sales, and combat veterinary medicine than I suspect she bargained for. Throughout the writing of this dissertation, she shared in my excitement with each new discovery, assuaged every v setback, and remained a constant force of optimism and friendship. I will remain profoundly grateful for her love, patience, and support for the rest of my life. Ultimately, it is to my parents, Scott and Beverly, that this dissertation is dedicated. From a young age, they encouraged me to read, to write, to think, and to pursue my passions. They raised my brother and I in a rich environment of intellectual debate, wry humour, and a deep fondness for animals, with even a horse or two appearing along the way. Their exuberance, their kindness, and their confidence, laid the foundations for project well before its conception. vi Dedication To Drs. Scott and Beverly McEwen - For always pushing me to my best. vii Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Dedication ......................................................................................................................... vii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. viii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures and Illustrations ...........................................................................................x List of Symbols, Abbreviations and Nomenclature ........................................................... xi Epigraph ...........................................................................................................................
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