VN February 2023

Vetnuus | Februarie 2023 28 Remembering Maurice Azzie….. Maurice was born in East London, South Africa, on the 29th of October 1935, the son of Tim and Mary Azzie. Having completed two years of a Bachelor of Science (in Biology) at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, he went on to study Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort University of Pretoria. After qualifying in December 1958, he spent time in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Europe and North America. On returning to South Africa in August 1960, he established private veterinary practices in Alberton and Rosettenville, Johannesburg treating small animals and Thoroughbred racehorses. He married his wife, Bernadette Cole, on the 28th of December 1961 in Ardee in Co. Louth, Ireland. They are blessed with six children: Kevin, Maurice, David, Bernadette, Christopher, and the late Brendan. In February 1966, he obtained his private pilot’s licence and flew a single-engine Mooney aircraft supporting his veterinary practice on remote stud farms. Shortly after that, he suffered a fracture to the base of the skull and severe facial injuries, having been kicked by a mare he was examining for pregnancy on Cape stud farm. Maurice was the founder of the Equine Practitioners Group (EPG, later renamed the South African Equine Veterinary Association – SAEVA) of SAVA and served actively on its executive committee from its inauguration in 1967 to 1972, and as chairman for two years. He organised the first international EPG conference in 1974. Maurice has done some remarkable work for the Equine Industry; he was a founder of the Hawaii Foundation Fund of SAEVA and also financially supported it; he co-founded the WARC School of Farriery in South Africa and dedicated 31 years of service to training upcoming farriers in this school, and he was co-organiser of the first Southern Africa Farriers Congress in 1993. Many veterinarians started their early equine veterinary careers in his practice at Newmarket in Alberton. He served on the board of the Veterinary Foundation for 11 years. He was chairman for five years. From 1968-1986 he served on the Board of Trustees of the Witwatersrand Owners and Trainers Association. From 1987-1996 as a Steward of the Newmarket Racing Club. He participated in the updating of the Rules of the Jockey Club of Southern Africa. He actively improved dope testing facilities and anti-doping control in equine athletes. He submitted a dissertation in 1972 on the “Blood of the Horse” to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. He completed a doctoral thesis on “Aortic Thrombosis of the Horse”, which he presented at the University of Zurich in January 1974, for which he was awarded the Dr. Med. Vet. qualification. He lectured on Aortic Thrombosis at an American equine veterinary conference in San Francisco. He gave 23 years of community service to the Alberton Rotary Club, where he was instrumental in setting up a Bursary Fund for Tertiary Education in 1984. He also sat on the Board of Management for Grantley College in Parktown, Johannesburg, assisting children with learning disabilities. On the 18th of November 1976, he survived a plane crash at the Baragwanath Airfield; he also survived after being shot during an armed robbery of his veterinary practice in October 1992. IN MEMORY OF MAURICE ANTHONY JOSEPH AZZIE (1935-2022) >>> 29