Practice History
The Storrar Practice was established in 1848. I am the sixth generation of Storrar vets to work in Chester (all of whom have been called James!).
My Great, Great, Great, Grandfather, James I, started The Storrar Practice when he graduated from The Dick Veterinary School, University of Edinburgh in 1848. After working in Aberdeenshire for a number of years, he was offered a post as lecturer at the veterinary school but opted to come south.
James I soon set up an extensive practice in Chester and in 1881 moved to 25 Newgate Street where he based the surgery and also built a stables and forge. During this time he became honorary veterinary surgeon to the Earl of Chester Yeomanry Cavalry with the rank of Major. His eldest son David became a vet and set up practice in Abergavenny. Apart from seeing service in WW1 as a veterinary Major, he was also famous for showing Welsh pit ponies in London and demonstrating to the public the level of care the ponies received. A daughter, Sophie, married an Actuary whose son became vet to Her Majesty the Queen.
Another son, James II, graduated from The University of Glasgow with two gold medals, one for cattle pathology and one for horse pathology. He further expanded the practice and had two sons who became veterinary surgeons, James III and Eric. Two of their sisters also married vets.
James III was in the Cheshire Yeomanry before the Great War and went off to Palastine with them before joining the Royal Flying Corps, and it was after the War he graduated from Liverpool Veterinary College in 1924. He moved the practice from Newgate Street to Park Cottage, Duke Street in 1938.
My grandfather, James IV (Jas), after leaving school and before going to veterinary school, decided to learn to fly with the RAF. Before long he found he was fighting for his and his country’s life over the beaches of Dunkirk and then as a Battle of Britain pilot over the fields of Kent. He went on to be a Wing commander leading long-range bombers over Germany before leaving the RAF to finally go to The Dick Veterinary School, University of Edinburgh. He joined his father in the family practice in 1952. He also became the C.O. of 610 County of Cheshire Squadron before it disbanded in 1957.
My Father, James Andrew V, graduated from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Canada after spending some time working for the Department of Indian Affairs and the Canadian Wild Horse Association. He returned to join the family practice in 1978. He also became a Major in the Royal Army Veterinary Corps TA Officer Pool and was attached to the British Army Civil Affairs Group responsible for Civilian Military Co-operation (CIMIC). He moved the practice from Duke Street to the current premises on Tarvin Road, Boughton in 2002 where he built up a busy small animal practice, while still servicing Cheshire’s dairy farms and carrying out Meat Hygiene work for the Government. Sadly, father died in October 2006.
My colleagues, Peter Spence and Sally Shone have been with the Storrar Practice since 1995 and 2002 respectively. They both graduated from The University of Liverpool and are highly respected members of our veterinary team.
I graduated from The University of Liverpool in 2001 and worked for five years in a busy small animal multi-branch practice in Leeds. I returned to Chester in May 2006 and am enjoying the family tradition of looking after Chester’s pets. I have two children (James VII and Daisy) – maybe the next generation of Storrar vets?
JAMES O. STORRAR VI
Testimonials
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