Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons papers

These papers document the activities of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, including the work of veterinary surgeons in the UK to establish the RCVS in the 1840s, and continuing up to the enactment of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.

The papers illustrate the main functions of the RCVS, including examination, registration, and regulation of the veterinary profession in the UK, as well as the executive functions of the RCVS Council and its various Committees. There are also papers relating to the finances, estates, and Library of the RCVS.

These activities are represented in papers including incoming and outgoing correspondence, meeting agendas and minutes, accounts ledgers and registers, draft Bills and Acts of legislation, and printed circulars and newspaper articles.

The RCVS is still operating, and so the scope of the catalogue is limited to records created before 1970. Material beyond 1970 will be added to the catalogue at a later date.

[Please note that this catalogue is a work in progress and more records are being published periodically.]

These papers have been separated by series relating to the core functions of the RCVS. Individual functions may have been carried out by varying departments and committees of the RCVS, but the activity itself has been more consistent.

Material within individual files has been kept in original order, and files then arranged with series and sub-series either chronologically or alphabetically as appropriate.

Some material containing recent personal data are not permitted to be photographed or copied. This is indicated at item level.

Established in 1844 by Royal Charter, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is the regulatory body for the veterinary profession in the United Kingdom. The RCVS was created to distinguish veterinary surgeons as a profession, to administer examinations of students from the two existing veterinary colleges in London and Edinburgh, and maintain a register of persons who have passed these examinations, and are therefore members of the RCVS.

The RCVS is managed by a Council, elected by its members, the size and constitution of which has changed over time. Bye-laws were created and agreed by the Council from 1844. The Supplemental Charter of 1876 officially created the role of Registrar which, since 1852, has been occupied by the same person as that of Secretary. From 1948, regulations and rules of the Council were subject to confirmation by the Privy Council.

The Supplemental Charter of 1879 confirmed an agreement between the RCVS and the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, and existing holders of the HASS certificate were admitted as RCVS members.

The Veterinary Surgeons Act of 1881 restricted the title of ?veterinary surgeon? to members of the RCVS, to help the public distinguish between qualified and unqualified practitioners. The Act also allowed colonial or foreign practitioners with recognised veterinary diplomas to be registered. A separate register of ?Existing Practitioners? was created, to include persons who were not formally qualified but had practised veterinary surgery for five years previously. These were not considered members of the RCVS, and there were to be no further additions to the initial list of 863 Existing Practitioners. The RCVS were also given disciplinary powers to remove members from the Register in cases of criminal activity or professional misconduct.

The Amendment Act of 1920 introduced an Annual Fee of a guinea for all members (except those with the HASS certificate) and extended the RCVS disciplinary powers to include Existing Practitioners.

As a result of the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, the RCVS began admitting female members, and in 1922 Aleen Cust became the first woman to qualify as a veterinary surgeon in the UK.

Following the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, the RCVS continued its jurisdiction in Ireland, but an Irish Free State Veterinary Council was set up by the Veterinary Surgeons (Irish Free State Agreement) Act 1932. This act also allowed RCVS Council to have four extra members to represent members of the College resident in the Free State, and those four were also to be members of the Irish Free State Veterinary Council.

After a report by the Loveday Committee on Veterinary Education was published in 1944, the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1948 significantly changed the examination and registration roles of the RCVS. Recognised university degree courses and examinations now became the primary route to RCVS registration, and the main function of the RCVS was to supervise the courses leading to these degrees. This Act also made it unlawful for anyone to practise veterinary surgery except a registered veterinary surgeon or a person named on the Supplementary Veterinary Register (SVR). The SVR listed persons aged 28 or over, who had for seven out of the last ten years been engaged in the UK in diagnosing diseases of animals and giving medical or surgical treatment to animals, but held no formal qualifications. The SVR served primarily to accommodate persons working for animal welfare charities. Rules about which procedures unqualified persons are permitted to carry out have changed over time.

At this time, disciplinary procedures were revised, and a Disciplinary Committee was appointed, with extended jurisdiction to include persons on the SVR. The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 saw the creation of a Preliminary Investigation Committee to consider misconduct allegations ahead of going before the Disciplinary Committee.

Further changes regarding the education, registration and regulation of veterinary surgeons in the Republic of Ireland were agreed in 1972, but these were later overruled by European Economic Community directives in 1980.

[This administrative history covers the scope of the material currently catalogued from this collection. Further amendments will be made at a later date.]