Archival Arrivals
Already this year we have received several new additions to the RCVS archives, courtesy of generous external depositors. Some are just a file or two of papers, while others are more comprehensive. Regardless of size, each adds to our knowledge of the history of the veterinary profession. So here’s a quick overview of each one.
Nigel Stansfield Carter
Nigel’s recipe book and Articles of Association, plus a bag of swallowed metal
Nigel’s file of papers include the 1956 Articles of Partnership drawn up when Nigel joined the practice of John French Ryan in Victoria Street, Hereford. This document tells us much about the terms and conditions of a practice partnership at this time, such as the distribution of monies, the keeping of accounts and the use of premises. Also present are samples of the practice’s annual accounts from 1956 to 1986, plus a charming handwritten recipe book containing remedies for all manner of ailments including cow pox, liver disfunction and many others. Nigel also kept some alarming pieces of metalware he removed from animals during rumenotomies and other similar operations, which he saved in small bags labelled with details of the operation.
The Herefordshire Veterinary Club
As part of the same donation, we received a selection of papers relating to the Herefordshire Veterinary Club. These include minutes and accounts dating from the 1950s to the 1980s. The collection also includes a selection of correspondence, programmes for events plus responses to the Club questionnaire on the subject of veterinary fees. Together these documents tell us a great deal about the administration, reach and ambition of the organisation.
George Thurston
George Thurston practiced in Norfolk from the 1950s to the 1990s. As with Nigel his near contemporary, George’s archive includes a sample of account books which help to build a picture of the financial conditions and expectations of veterinary practices in the second half of the twentieth century. George’s papers also reflect his wider veterinary activities, such as a 1960 report on a suspected outbreak of anthrax at a farm in Suffolk, plus a 1960 rulebook from the Eastern Counties Veterinary Society.
Documents from the James Waddell collection
James Waddell
James Waddell’s career took him from a practice in his hometown of Kilwinning in North Ayrshire to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in the First World War and eventually on to a career as an inspector for the Animal Health Division of the Ministry of Agriculture. His collection is similarly diverse and interesting, ranging from a fascinating printed book of testimonials to his skills as a veterinary surgeon, to a panoramic photograph of the attendees of the 1935 annual congress of the Annual Veterinary Medical Association in Belfast.
Walter Hill
After several years practicing on the island of Islay Walter Hill emigrated to Kimberley in present-day South Africa in 1892. At the time southern Africa was suffering from a rinderpest epidemic. Walter’s collection includes a metal bowl presented to him by grateful farmers for his work in treating infected animals. His collection also contains photographs of his gravesite and certificates going back to his graduation in 1887.
Boyde and Willett
Ledger showing treatments performed on royal animals
And finally a collection containing papers from two generations of a veterinary family. Albert Willett graduated from the RVC in 1905 and joined his father Frederick’s practice in Staines, Surrey. Indeed, Frederick’s own father John had practised as a farrier on the same location from 1837. In turn Albert’s son Rex would join the family business on his graduation in 1927. Additionally, Carl Boyde joined the firm in 1951 and remained there for an impressive forty-seven years.
The oldest document is a book of notes on stable management made by Albert during his course at Edinburgh in 1903. There is also a good collection of government and industry guidance documents dating from the 1950s to 1982. Alongside these are sixty client ledgers covering 1929 to 1962, which record procedures and costs for each of their clients in their Surrey and Berkshire vicinity. Interestingly the firm treated animals belonging to King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth (known for many years as the Queen Mother) and their daughter Princess Margaret. Other notable clients included the Holloway Sanitorium, Egham District Council, the Royal Holloway College, the Addlestone Co-operative Society and the Ashford Poor Law Institution.
Details of these collections can be found on our online catalogue (search page available here: https://www.rcvsarchives.org/advanced.aspx). We thank all those who have donated their papers to our Archives. If you have any veterinary-related papers which you’re willing to donate, please contact us on archives@rcvsknowledge.org
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