FOX, Vincent

Personal Details

Attribute	Details
Nationality	British
Date of Birth	1889
Place of Birth	Hacksballscross, Carrickastuck, , Louth, Ireland
Veterinary College and Date of Graduation	Dublin - December 1911

Military Service

Attribute	Details
Last Rank	Lieutenant
Regiment/Service	Army Veterinary Corps
Secondary Regiment	8th Infantry Brigade
Secondary Unit
First Theatre of War	France 17 August 1914

Casualty Details

Attribute	Details
Date of Death	26 August 1914
Age at Death	25
Place of Death	Audencourt, France
Cause of Death	Killed in action

Cemetery

Attribute	Details
Cemetery	Caudry British Cemetery
Location	Caudry, Francem
Grave Reference	III.C.1
Commonwealth War Grave	Yes - GWGC Headstone
Emblem or Badge on Headstone	Army Veterinary Corps

Honours and Memorials

Attribute	Details
Name on RCVS Honour Board	Yes
Name In Officers who died in Great War	Yes
Medals and Awards	British War Medal 1914-1918 Victory Medal

Biography

Lieutenant Vincent Richard James Fox MRCVS was born at Hacksballscross, Carrickastuck, County Louth, Ireland. The youngest of 10 children, his father died in 1890 and his mother in 1908. The 1911 census shows the family, headed by the eldest son, Patrick, living at 25 Quay Street, Dundalk.

Fox entered the Royal Veterinary College in Ireland in 1907 and graduated MRCVS in December 1911. He initially worked in Dundalk, and then in May 1912, he sailed to Calcutta. Here, he worked for RS Hart Bros, described as a ‘Royal Horse Repository and Veterinary Infirmary’ by its owner, Robert Spooner-Hart MRCVS. The work varied, ranging from veterinary surgery to horse breeding and dealing; the company also consulted veterinary surgeons to the Calcutta Turf Club. Spooner-Hart died in March 1914, and about that time, Fox returned to Ireland, keen to pursue a military career.

Fox received his commission, in the rank of Lieutenant, on probation, in the Army Veterinary Corps on 31 July 1914.

Fox was one of the first veterinary surgeons to depart for France. Serving as Brigade Veterinary Officer to 8 Infantry Brigade, he arrived in Boulogne on 14 August. The Brigade were deployed north into Belgium and, by 22 August, were at Mons, facing the advancing German army. The position of the British troops meant there was a real risk of their being cut off, and on 22 August, the order was given to retreat. By 25 August, 8 Brigade were positioned in the town of Audencourt, to the east of Le Cateau.

Here, the commanding officer 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’ 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.

The Battle of Le Cateau took place on Wednesday, 26 August. The headquarters of the 8 Brigade were initially sited in a farm in Audencourt. The Brigade diary reported that:

No field ambulance and no medical officers being available,the wounded were taken into the church, a very solid stone structureand here Lieut V Fox ARMY VETERINARY CORP took charge and dressed the wounded.

At about noon the brigade came under a sustained artillery barrage and it was decided to move south. The horses were taken to a nearby orchard; the wounded, being treated by Fox, were to be left in the church, since it was considered strong enough to withstand shell fire. At 2.30pm the Germans commenced a bombardment of Audencourt, with disastrous consequences. Shelling of the orchard led to the death of all the horses and in the late afternoon the church was hit. Witnesses described how the spire was struck, followed by an explosion and the building caught fire. At least one high explosive shell entered the building, causing substantial damage and destruction, resulting in the death of Lieutenant Fox. His family were later to receive reports that his dead body was found, ‘without a mark or scar on it’.

Fox was buried in the Commonwealth War Grave Cemetery at Caudry British Cemetery.

His death is reported in the in Veterinary Record on October 3, 1914.

Media and Documents