Liverpool’s vet school celebrates 120 years

A vet school initially funded by a port city’s shipowners is marking its 120th anniversary this month.

The University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science was established in 1904 at a time when hundreds of horses were needed in the transport of goods to and from the city’s docks, and the port had the largest cattle trade in Europe.

William Owen Williams was invited to transfer his vet school from Edinburgh to Liverpool and the professor said his ambition was “to improve the education and status of the veterinary profession, placing it on a par with the medical profession”.

In the years since, it has led the way in veterinary research, care and education and has a global alumni community.

Pride

Paul Lunn, dean of the University of Liverpool School of Veterinary Science, said: “Over the past 120 years we have created a place where veterinary students, educators and researchers can thrive.

“At the University of Liverpool’s School of Veterinary Science our ethos is to work together to improve animal health throughout our society and the world.

“We are incredibly proud of our 120 years and continue to strive to create accessible, equitable, sustainable, inclusive and innovative health solutions that address challenges of our time.”

Key dates

Leahurst on Wirral housed the first veterinary field station in the UK in 1942, providing students unprecedented access to two practice farms and providing a prototype for other city centre-based vet schools.

A city centre small animal hospital opened in 1977 and a £1.4 million large animal hospital at Leahurst followed in 1991, while the £2 million Philip Leverhulme Equine Hospital opened in 2011.

A year later, the school’s veterinary scientists found early screening and drug treatment with pimobendan in Dobermann dogs slowed progress of heart disease and prolonged life.

Key moments and photographs in the vet school’s life are documented by the University of Liverpool’s Special Collections and Archives.