William Thacker, veterinary surgeon in the British Army, was the son of Joseph Thacker and his wife Sara Etchells and an older brother of James Thacker* (FamilySearch). He qualified in London on 31 January 1844 (Register of members of the RCVS) and joined the British Army on 14 February 1847. On 14 July that same year he was posted to the Cavalry Depot at Maidstone as veterinary surgeon in the 12th Light Dragoons (Paine, 2025; London Gazette, 1848). While still a veterinary student he published “A case of puerperal fever” in The Veterinarian (Thacker, 1841). Many years later, then a staff veterinary surgeon, he published “Hints on shoeing horses” in the same journal (Thacker, 1873).

William served with the 12^th Lancers for several years, including the eighth South African frontier war of 1850-1853, for which he was awarded a medal. In 1855 he exchanged to the 15^th Hussars and from that regiment to the 10^th Hussars (Broad Arrow, 1876). On 4 November 1859, at that time of the 15^th Light Dragoons, he was appointed as veterinary surgeon first class (The Veterinarian, 1860). He was promoted to staff veterinary surgeon on 4 December 1863. In the latter part of 1871 he was sent to India to fill a vacancy in the Veterinary Department. He retired a few years later and was appointed remount agent to the Bengal Army and sent out to Melbourne, Australia, to purchase horses for stud purposes. He died in Melbourne on 25 June 1876 (Broad Arrow, 1876; Obituary, 1877; Payne, 2025).

William’s contribution to veterinary science in southern Africa took the form of an article (Thacker, 1854) entitled “Cases occurring in Africa” published in The Veterinarian. It dealt with four cases of disease in horses, two of which were glanders, one was mad staggers (phrenitis) and the other one enteritis with rupture of the colon. The author was at the time stationed at King William’s Town as veterinary surgeon to the 12^th Lancers. Curson (1935) describes the author as “the first veterinarian in South Africa to contribute an article to veterinary literature” (p.199) and the publication as “the first professional article [on veterinary science] from South Africa” (p. 202).

William was confused with his brother James Thacker* by Curson (1935), and later by Posthumus (1992). They ascribed to James the qualification date, place and date of death and other particulars of William. Curson even maintained that James wrote most of the Thacker (1854) article, even though he reproduced the article’s opening paragraph, with the author identified as W. Thacker (Curson, 1935, p. 202).

List of sources:
The Broad Arrow, 9 September 1876, p. 16, Intelligence from Australia announced the death of Staff Veterinary Surgeon William Thacker. Copy received from Karon Payne (2025).

Curson, H. H. Matters of veterinary interest, 1795-1881. Journal of the South African Veterinary Medical Association, 1935, Vol. 6, pp. 74-107, 196-218, 274-296. Downloaded from https://jsava.co.za/index.php/jsava/article/view/12/11

FamilySearch: William Thacker https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMFW-F3P?lang=en AND Joseph Thacker https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/GQ7K-WHQ

The London Gazette, 28 January 1848. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/20819/page/281

Obituary of Mr William Thacker, MRCVS… The Veterinarian, May 1877, Vol. 50(5), p. 380. https://vethistory.rcvsknowledge.org/the-veterinarian-vol-50-issue-5-may-1877/

Payne, Karon (direct descendant of William Thacker). Personal communication re William and James Thacker, July-August 2025, including copies of William’s Australian death record, his will and his service record and James’s baptism record and death certificate.

Posthumus, P.J. Past veterinarians in South Africa, Vol. 2, 10^th edition, 1992: Thacker, James.

Register of the members of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons from January, 1794, to May, 1874, inclusive [electronic resource]. https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/b21482354/b21482354.pdf

Thacker, W. “A case of puerperal fever”. The Veterinarian, May 1841, Volume 14(5), p. 283-285.: https://vethistory.rcvsknowledge.org/the-veterinarian-vol-14-issue-5-may-1841/

Thacker, W. “Cases occurring in Africa”. The Veterinarian, February 1854, Volume 27(2), p. 75-80. https://vethistory.rcvsknowledge.org/the-veterinarian-vol-26-issue-2-february-1854/

Thacker, W. “Hints on shoeing horses”. The Veterinarian, July 1873, Volume 46(7), pp. 456-457. : https://vethistory.rcvsknowledge.org/the-veterinarian-vol-46-issue-7-july-1873/

The Veterinarian, January 1860, Volumr 33, p. 64: Army appointments.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2025-08-25 11:07:34