Dales vet Neville Turner releases his autobiography

The life of a rural veterinary surgeon has been revealed in a new book. Our reporter Martin Paul caught up with the author, Neville Turner

Almost three decades of working in the countryside has given popular former vet Neville Turner a unique insight into Teesdale.
Now, through a compelling illustrated autobiography, readers are being given a peek into his life.
The Dales Vet is Mr Turner’s third book having published Hill Farmer in 2001 and The Border Collie on 2013.
He describes his latest offering as “the joy of being a veterinary surgeon in Teesdale”.
He said: “It is not just a James Herriot book, it is an intimacy with a very special landscape.
“I’ve always been interested in natural history, but to work in Teesdale, while it was hard work, you develop this intimacy and this deep knowledge of the history, geology, culture, natural history and people of the dale.”
The book is a collection of 38 literary sketches, each of about 1,000 words on various topics.
He added: “It is a unique concept because there have been a lot of James Herriot books, but not this type of photographic autobiography.
“The first seven or eight pieces are about the best job in the world, they are about my work, being in the village band, judging at agricultural shows, all that sort of stuff.”
It also covers how veterinary practice has developed over the years and shows how things changed from the 1970s to the high-tech 21st century.
Mr Turner grew up in Weardale before heading to Edinburgh University, where he graduated with a bachelor of veterinary medicine and surgery in 1968.
He said: “I spent a year in Weardale and four years in Somerset. And then I saw an advert for a job in Barnard Castle, enough said.”
He arrived in the town in 1973.
He added: “In the 1970s and even into the 1980s we were all jack-of-all-trades – you did everything.
“Then the profession changed, you became more and more specialised. We evolved into the branches of the profession we liked best, and hence what we were best at.
“So we actually ended up with three very happy departments, farm animals, small animals and equine, all working together. But we all moved towards the disciplines that we wanted.
“We became dedicated to our own branches.”
Mr Turner worked happily in the farm animals department before retiring age 55.
He said: “While I got excited about going to work – I loved my work – there were so many other things I hadn’t had time to do and physically, the farm animals are quite demanding, so I set my sights on retiring at 55 because I wanted to write, take photographs, play in brass bands, do the garden and cruise.
“I’ve done 30 cruises all over the world. I’ve been to Rio, Dubai, the Arctic Circle, Alcapulco, Odessa – I’ve been about.”
Along with his many pastimes, the vet is a popular speaker and it is through this that he landed the opportunity to join cruises as an “enrichment speaker” telling tourists from around the globe about the gem that is Teesdale. His foray into public speaking came by way of the local Women’s Institutes.
Mr Turner explained: “At the time James Herriot was very popular and I think the Women’s Institutes thought that all vets were great raconteurs, and I thought it would be rather boorish to turn them down.
“Eggleston and,Stainton and Streatlam were my first two, and I gradually realised if I took a few slides along it makes it a lot easier and more fun, so my talks evolved into slide shows.”
Providing slides for his shows was easy enough because Mr Turner has more than 40 years worth of photographs and slides to choose from. Significantly his photography gained him a type of celebrity when his photographs, shot in Teesdale, became part of a marketing strategy for whisky brand The Famous Grouse.
For a while the vet spent many hours wining and dining with creative teams from Saatchi and Saatchi, and later, Abbott Mead Vickers.
Along with photography, Mr Turner has written extensively with his work being featured in the likes of The Field, The Shooting Times, The Times, The Daily Mail, Dalesman, Countryman, The Yorkshire Journal, and Country Letters.
Mr Turner will signing copies The Dales Vet at the Teesdale Mercury shop in Market Place, Barnard Castle, on Saturday, November 5 from 1pm until 4pm. All are welcome to attend the public event.