Individual postings
The New Zealand biographies record men of the corps, but no individual posting to No. 2 is securely established here. A corps label or Egyptian burial alone cannot supply that connection.
What the men did here
Mobile veterinary work brought together horse handling, first treatment, feeding, watering and preparing sick or injured animals for further care. Keeping these tasks going while the mounted formation moved shaped the men’s working environment.
Where it fitted
Animals needing care beyond their own unit could be collected, treated or sent farther rearward according to their condition and the facilities available. The section supported the Mounted Rifles Brigade; a particular numbered receiving hospital must be established from dated records.
Brief history
NZ History distinguishes the early hospital sections from the mobile sections. In January 1916 the hospital sections were absorbed into the mobile organisation; No. 2 served with the Mounted Rifles Brigade, while No. 1 went with the New Zealand Division to France.
Historical material
AWM4 35/28: 2nd New Zealand Mobile Veterinary Section diary gives access to November and December 1918. Those months are the AWM catalogue’s coverage, rather than the section’s whole service period. NZ History also links to the Archives New Zealand diary search; the individual files remain to be identified.
Sources and further reading
- Manatū Taonga, NZ History: Veterinary Corps.
- AWM4 35/28, linked above.
- The New Zealand individual profiles retain their own service and commemoration sources. No numbered-unit link has been inferred from them.