Adam Fulton
| Adam Fulton | |
|---|---|
 1916-10 est Fulton Adam Border Regiment Barrow-in-Furness a Enhanced Colourised.jpg | |
| Born | 10 July 1897 Netherton Farm, near Kelty, Scotland |
| 💀Died | 2 February 1997 (aged 99) Glenlomond Village, Kinross, Scotland2 February 1997 (aged 99) |
| 🏫 Education | Beath High School |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Royal (Dick) Veterinary Collage |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 👶 Children | Adam Kelso Fulton, Jean Mairi Kelso Fulton |
Adam Fulton M.R.C.V.S (10 July 1897 – 2 February 1997), was a veterinary surgeon and Director of the Joint Veterinary Services for Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
Education and career[edit]
Born in Netherton Farm near Kelty, Scotland, he received his education at Kelty Board School, Dunfermline,[1] and Beath High Schools.
After enrolling in the medical faculty at the University of Edinburgh,[2] in 1914, he shifted his focus to veterinary medicine following his service in World War I. Fulton qualified[3] as a veterinary surgeon from the Royal (Dick) Veterinary Collage in 1922 and entered into general practice in Auchterarder[4], Crieff and, Lochgelly.[5]
He joined the Colonial Service in 1926 and served as a veterinary officer[6] in the Northern Territories[7] of the Gold Coast[8] (now Ghana). From 1948 to 1952, he was appointed[9] Director of Veterinary Services for Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
During his directorship, Fulton prioritized the development of veterinary services and disease control in each country. He worked towards improving veterinary infrastructure[10] and implementing more effective disease management strategies. Notably, he successfully controlled outbreaks of rinderpest in Sierra Leone and The Gambia. In Sierra Leone,[11] the limited availability of suitable vaccines posed challenges, but stringent isolation measures helped contain the outbreak despite the loss of cattle. In The Gambia, Fulton[12] and his team pioneered the use of a lapinized virus, which proved effective in controlling rinderpest and protecting livestock not only in The Gambia but also in other countries, including Ghana.
Fulton also witnessed the initiation of the ill-fated[13] Gambian Poultry Scheme,[14] which faced numerous issues.[15] The project suffered due to the poor choice of an inexperienced manager who lacked knowledge in disease control and disregarded consultation[16] with veterinary and agricultural experts. Though unable to publicly comment as a government official, Fulton privately deemed the scheme a "disgraceful failure" with “nothing to show for it except a dismal memory”.[17]
After retiring,[18] Fulton worked for the Ministry of Agriculture,[19] focusing on tuberculosis eradication in dairy herds by inoculating cattle throughout Scotland. In 1956, he contributed to the establishment of Liberia's veterinary service on behalf of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization.[20]
War Service[edit]
During World War I, Fulton served[21] in the Border Regiment,[22][23] participating in the Gallipoli campaign[24], Egypt, the Western Front, and Italy. He was wounded twice in action, at the Somme[25][26][27][28] in 1916 and at Ypres[29] a year later. In World War II, he held the position of second-in-command of the Northern Territories' home guard and survived a torpedo attack while aboard the MV Accra[30][31][32] in 1940. He later joined the Civil Defence Corps in 1961.
Personal life[edit]
In 1928, Fulton married Jane Kelso and in 1988 the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.[33] They had two children: Kelso Fulton, who became a Scottish international rugby player, and Jean, who pursued a career as a lawyer in Kirkcudbright.
Adam Fulton died just five months short of his 100th birthday.
External links[edit]
- "The Lonsdale Battalion Wiki". 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
References[edit]
- ↑ Roll of Honour, Dunfermline High School, (1920), p 13 and plate 5.
- ↑ Roll of Honour and Record of War Service, University of Edinburgh, (1921), p309.
- ↑ Exam results, Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, The Scotsman Newspaper, 19 July 1922.
- ↑ Report confirming the town council’s acceptance of Fulton’s resignation as veterinary surgeon, Perthshire Advertiser, 13 September 1924
- ↑ Report confirming Fulton’s appointment as burgh veterinary surgeon, Evening Telegraph, 15 May 1924
- ↑ Fulton was appointed on 18 May 1926 and subsequently arrived on 1 June 1926. He then assumed the position of Acting Director of Veterinary Services on 18 July 1937 and was promoted to the role of Senior Veterinary Officer on 10 August 1937. Appointments, Gold Coast Civil Service List 1938, (1938), p91.
- ↑ Fulton served in the veterinary sections covering the eastern region, specifically the Northern Territories, as well as the southern region, including Accra. Fulton, Adam, “West Africa 1926-1956” - written personal reminiscences, 23 September 1983.
- ↑ Fulton applied for a position in British Guiana, but to his surprise, he discovered that he had been appointed to the Gold Coast instead.Cameron, John M (14 October 2020). "Reminiscences and Experiences of Adam Fulton in the Great War (Part Three)". The Lonsdale Battalion. The Journal of the Western Front Association, issue number 40, Spring 1994. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ↑ Appointments, Colonial Office List 1949, p454>
- ↑ To enhance expertise in various aspects of animal health, dedicated laboratories and onsite housing for both senior and junior staff were established at Abuko in The Gambia and Teko in Sierra Leone. These facilities served multiple purposes, including providing comprehensive support for research, diagnostics, and treatment. Furthermore, indirectly, the establishment of these facilities laid the foundation for the independent development of each country's veterinary service once the Joint Service was discontinued.
- ↑ “During this time the Veterinary Services in Sierra Leone have been properly established and a degree of control of animal disease never before existing has been developed on sound lines. The speedy and successful way in which two serious outbreaks of rinderpest were dealt with in 1950 and 1951 gave ample proof of the effective organisation built up under your directions and in the face of difficulties” Governor of Sierra Leone, Letter to Fulton, 10 March 1952.
- ↑ In Ghana, the livestock immunisation “breakthrough came with a virus passed through rabbits. This lapinized strain, developed by A Fulton in Sierra Leone from a virus originally cultured in Egypt, was tried in Ghana in 1950-51, when twenty-five thousand head were inoculated with no deaths”. Patterson, K. David. “The Veterinary Department and the Animal Industry in the Gold Coast, 1909-1955.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies, vol. 13, no. 3, 1980, pp. 476
- ↑ "Hansard 3 March 1951".
- ↑ The Gambian Poultry Scheme, (or Yundum egg scheme), initiated by the Colonial Development Corporation in late 1948, was ultimately abandoned in February 1951 at a cost of £910,000. Hughes, Arnold; Perfect, David, “Historical Dictionary of The Gambia”, 4th Edition, Scarecrow Press (2008). P249.
- ↑ Fulton highlighted the following issues: the assumption that the successful Bahamian poultry scheme could be replicated without problems in the Gambia proved to be incorrect; there was no trial phase to assess the scheme's viability before implementing it at full capacity; inadequate disease prevention and control measures led to a significant loss of thousands of adult birds from the main breeding flock due to an outbreak of fowl cholera and fowl plague (Newcastle Disease); despite Fulton formally reporting outbreaks of Newcastle disease in the Gambia the previous year, British authorities mistakenly believed that the region was free from the disease; cereals intended for poultry feed were destroyed by a caterpillar infestation. Even after the project was cancelled, issues persisted - the manager arranged the sale of poultry carcasses to Nigeria without obtaining the necessary certification to confirm that the birds were disease-free. Additionally, the frozen poultry carcasses were lost when their refrigeration unit failed. Fulton, p50.
- ↑ “Lord Trefgarne was astounded when he was informed that my presence in the Colony had been completely ignored. He ordered that I was to be shown over the farm next day. However, the instruction did not insist on consultation with the result I was not again approached until disaster occurred”. Fulton, p49.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ “…thank you for your valuable services to the Governments and peoples of the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and the Gambia over the past twenty-six years. I have noted with pleasure the tributes paid to your outstanding professional and administrative ability and the devotion to duty you have always shewn”. Letter of appreciation upon retirement, minister of state for Colonial Affairs, Henry Hopkinson, later the first Baron Colyton, to Fulton, 27 May 1952
- ↑ Obituary, The Courier and Advertiser, 28 February 1997, p12.
- ↑ Ibid.
- ↑ Fulton was underage when he enlisted. His recorded date of birth for military service was listed as 1896, one year older than his actual birth year of 1897. He was commissioned on 10 March 1915 and was demobilized in January 1919 where we was stationed in Italy - Officer’s Record of Service, Army Book 489
- ↑ Officers of the 6th Border Regiment, The Tatler, Sporting and Country House Supplement, No. 772, 12 April 1916, p55
- ↑ He served from 1915 to 1919. Dominions Office and Colonial Office List, (1935) p672
- ↑ May, Ralph; Eastwood Stuart; Elderton Clive, “Glory is no Compensation” (2003). Border Regiment and King’s Own Royal Border Regiment Museum in association with Silver Link Pub, p161
- ↑ Royle, Stephen, “From Mons to Messines and beyond, the Great War experiences of Sgt Charles Arnold”, (1985). KAF Brewin Books. P42-43. ISBN 0 947731 067
- ↑ “The attack of the Border Regiment being led by Captain Carr and 2Lt Fulton who, though wounded before the objective was reached, ‘carried on’ and saw their men established; the captures amounted to 2 machine guns and 191 prisoners, while nearly 100 enemy were killed; Captain Carr and 2Lt A. Fulton led most gallantly and were a very fine example to their men. Both of these officers were wounded before or at Joseph trench but continued in the attack and saw their men settle down to work in Schwaben before thinking of themselves". Sutherland, Douglas, “Tried & Valiant – the story of the Border Regiment 1702-1959”, (1972), p143
- ↑ War Diary, 6th Border Regiment, entry for 26 September 1916.
- ↑ Admittance register, No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station, entry for 27 September 1916.
- ↑ Fulton was now the officer commanding, A Company, 1st Border. “Hours shelling at stand to this morning. 2Lt G.F. Hamlett killed & A/Captain A Fulton wounded and about ten casualties to other ranks”,"War Diary, 1st Border Regiment, entry for 13 August 1917". The Lonsdale Battalion. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
- ↑ Passenger Manifest for MV Accra, Elder Dempster Lines Limited, from Liverpool to West Coast Africa, dated 22 July 1940, National Archives.
- ↑ Cameron, p 35.
- ↑ The MV Accra was attacked and sunk by the German submarine U34 on 26th July 1940.
- ↑ HM Queen Elizabeth II, “Telemessage” of congratulations, 1 April 1988
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