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1839 - 1912
Drove Veterinary Hospital can trace its origins back to 1839 , when a
Mr Frampton owned the practice and over the years has changed hands and locations several times. In 1842 it was bought by a
Mr Surmon, and in 1852 moved under the care of
Jesse
Vincent
to
28 Marlborough Road. The practice moved to Cricklade Street in 1882, when
Mr Lawrence
took up the reins and later moved to 24 Marlborough Road. A move to nearby 30 Marlborough Road followed in 1890 when
Frank Cundell
came to Swindon,
and still to this day on the right hand side of the gable end there is the crest of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons carved out of stone.
1912 - 1967
John Hewer Snr jo
ined the practice in 1912 and served in Mesopotamia (Iraq) throughout the war. 1932 saw the practice move to The Grange in Drove Road, with
John D Hewer Jnr
joining his father in the practice, remaining there until his retirement in 1977, between them having completed 65 years in the practice.
The
'Hewers' were very well known throughout Swindon, with local people recounting numerous tales of their visit to The Grange.
David Spriggs
joined the practice in 1949, after qualifying in London in 1939. Times were hard for vets as countless animals were put to sleep as owners went off to war, and he was out of work for 6 months. He gained his first job over the telephone, when he was asked 'How tall are you?' and on replying 6ft 2ins was offered the job immediately with a salary of £273.00 a year, five guineas a week! He joined the ministry during the war, working on fertility and milk production to ensure food supplies were maintained throughout rationing, and became somewhat an expert, publishing articles and winning coveted prizes for his work in this field.
Peter Wilson joined the practice in 1952 after qualifying at The Dick, Edinburgh in 1939. Throughout the war he served in Burma in the Army Veterinary Corps, and upon John Hewer Snr's retirement the practice became
Hewer, Spriggs and Wilson, with assistants and Veterinary nurses joining the team.
1967 - 1997
In 1967
Ron Sismey
joined and along with
Bob Cooper the practice became
Sismey, Cooper
later joined by
Rupert Hibberd when the practice became,
Sismey, Cooper & Hibberd, then later as
Tim Western and
P
eter May joined became
Sismey, Cooper, Hibberd & Partners.
Ron Sismey performed the first ever hip replacement in a dog at The Grange in 1976, and also invented surgical instruments to assist in orthopaedic procedures, which were pateted in his name.
Expansion was on the cards and in 1984 our first branch surgery was opened at 10 Moredon Road and then in 1988 the practice moved to its present location at 252 Croft Road, Swindon, beside the bridge crossing the M4 towards Wroughton and became known as
The Drove Veterinary Clinic.
In 1993 and 1994 respectively
Jacoba Veenland and
Andrew Turkington joined the partnership.
The purpose built hospital provided an exciting future for the practice and in line with our committment to provide local veterinary care in the local community, along with the peace of mind of a highly equipped Veterinary Hospital for internal referrals and critical case managemnet, a network of fully equipped surgeries throughout Swindon and the surrounding villages was established.
The practice evolved in 1997, when the trademark Fur, feathers and Scales logo was adopted and the practice became
The Drove Veterinary Hospital. Major growth continued with the opening of our Stratton Surgery within the Pets at Home store in the same year.
1997 - Present day
The practice doubled in size when the Abbey Meads surgery was opened within the housing development on the northern expansion in 1999, followed by the purchase of the J P Gambles practice at Wootton Bassett and County Road upon his retirement in May 1999. Further expansion was seen when the Holden & Reader practice in Marlborough and Pewsey was purchased in April 2002, and the Pewsey surgery re-located to 14 River Street in the heart of the village, to purpose built premises in March 2004.
2003 marked the partnership with our associate surgery the Arrow Veterinary Centre in Stratton.
The practice has always been mixed, dealing with Farm, Equine and Small Animal, but over the years the ratios have changed places, with small animals now being the greater part of our work, although we provide a comprehensive service to all our clients with Vets specialising in all areas of both Small and Large Animal Medicine.
2005 was a momentus year for the practice heralding the launch of a new, fresh up to date logo with 'The' being dropped from the title.
Kate Brodie and
Lynne
Gaskarth joined the partnership and with the birth of our long awaited Hospital extension and refurbishment we have moved into the future full of anticipation and hope.
2006 saw a new branch surgey open at Taw Hill and the launch of a new and highly successful dog behaviour, puppy and adult dog training service.
March 2008 greeted the purchase of Ridgeway Veterinary Clinic, which has now become our Lambourn surgery, and we look forward to getting to know our new clients in the Royal County of Berkshire, continuing to provide local care in the local community.
Our range of sevices have also been increased by the addition of a Laboratory technician and Cat behaviourist.
2009 has been another year of change with Andrew Turkington leaving the partnership to return home to live and practice in Ireland. We wish him and his family all the best in their new adventure.
Dave Rawlinson
&
Chris Price joined the partnership in July.
Nov 2009 Unfortunately our County Road Surgery has closed, but look forward to seeing our clients at one of our other surgeries, where all your pets records will be available.
2010 New and exciting Stratton Surgery opening at Unit 6, Hobley Drive, Swindon. Mid April 2010
March 2010 We are sad to announce that John Hewer died aged 94 years and would like to extend our sincere condolences to his family,
Our State of the Art Hospital with its sensational facilities, enables us to offer our clients unrivalled excellence in the local area and we look forward to a long and happy future with local people and their pets.
The Future.....?
Well the "Seeds have been planted" ............. Watch this space!
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