Armed Forces Day: Stories from our Military Tours Guides

Family - both Grandfathers’ served in WW1 & WW2. My Dad was in the Royal Navy. I guess I never grew up from playing soldiers as a kid. Joined the Army Cadets, which was a positive life experience and saw the Army as a very attractive opportunity/currently, as at the 6^th June 2025 I have served both Crown and Country for 37 years.

It has enabled me to bring to life, through personal experience, the stories we tell. It’s the whiff of cordite, the conveyance of fear, the understanding of hardship and the bonds of friendship that are forged in shared adversity. Being able to relate that to young people and draw comparisons with day to day life and not just warfare, may help to inspire and motivate some young person to do something amazing in their life.

The skills I have learned as a Soldier and Officer are very easily transferable into guiding. But the most important skill is the ability to communicate effectively to a group that is as diverse as you will find anywhere, be it age, race, gender, class or simply where they are from in the world. That’s what service has given me, the power of communication.

I joined the army at the age of 16, I never wanted to do anything else. I served 40 years colour service with my last posting as the Garrison quartermaster tidworth garrison. David Baron, another Anglia guide, was my CO.

I guided a lot in the military taking all ranks, officers and soldiers on battlefield tours and staff rides all over the world. I have always been fascinated by military history which has put me in good stead, especially on all my many deployments and operational tours.

Having a military background helps to bring the battlefield experience to life. Telling the stories of how soldiers coped and relating the stories back to my own experiences. It’s also the practical skills such as organisation and health and safety. As an instructor, it’s about developing a relationship and rapport with the students so that you can tell stories in an engaging way so they can smell the gin smoke so to speak. Hopefully they will come away with a better understanding of a shared past and to kindle lifelong learning. 

Both my father and grandfather were soldiers, so it was in my blood. My first career choice would have been to train racehorses, but when I was 16 my father suggested that (as I was thinking of joining the army) I might consider taking an Army Scholarship, which I did and passed. So I dropped the ideas about horse racing and went to Sandhurst instead. I soldiered on for the next 35 years with no regrets.

As for my military experience influencing my role as I guide - In short, I understand what it is like to be a soldier. The rifle used in both world wars was the one I used as a cadet and their ‘webbing’, used for carry kit and equipment, had an awful lot in common with the type I was first issued.  The army believes in a common thread passing through generations of soldiers. This was brought home to me when I first guided for recruits who were joining the army nearly 40 years after me, but yet were so similar to soldiers of my generation - 'everything had changed but nothing had changed’ and I am sure it would be same of soldiers who served in the two world wars.

I am certain that all guides use skills from their particular backgrounds.  For me, those I am fortunate enough to guide for are just like the soldiers I had the privilege of commanding: they need to be kept focused and interested, if they look bored then try something different and if the are too hot, too cold or too wet they go in to survival mode and will  not be hugely enthusiastic! Most of the time this seems to work.

I'm fairly late to the party in joining the Air Cadets. I was 55 when I responded to a request to help out at my local Air Cadet Squadron having chatted with one of the uniformed staff members in a local supermarket. I was a bit surprised to discover that few of the volunteers with the Air Cadets had actually served in the military.  I was happy to help out, but my light bulb moment came when I was on a camp with them at RAF Cosford.  One of the cadets was explaining to me how much his engagement with the Air Cadets meant to him. 

It was a life-changing experience for him. Of course, since then, I've seen many cadets develop into adults leaving with happy childhood memories of their time with us, flying in the Grob Tutor, attending air shows, meeting members of the Red Arrows Display team, shooting at Bisley, marching in local Remembrance Day parades (in many cases being the only RAF presence in the parade); white water rafting in France or navigating their way down through the mists and rain of the Brecon Beacons! Their sense of achievement rubs off.  All of the staff feel immense pride when it all comes together. 

I've been with the RAF Air Cadets for 7 years now. I started as a Civilian Instructor when I was still in full time employment.  I just helped out as and when I could.  I took early retirement in 2021 and was asked to consider going [back] into uniform then. Largely based on my previous military experience and the time I now had available to devote to supporting cadet activities, they asked if I would take command of one of the local Squadrons.  

That's a bit difficult to answer, as all of the experience I have gained contributes to how I try to guide, each building upon the other. There are many guides with Anglia tours with no military experience who are fantastic guides. I am in awe of the depth of their knowledge. Truly.  I wouldn't want anyone to think that you have to have military experience to be a guide. I learn from them every day! There's an art to engaging with people that can be acquired from many different walks of life and we all play to our strengths to try and engage with others in different ways. On occasion, I do get the question coming out of left field from which I might draw on my own personal knowledge. For example, in the event of an emergency, if I were in the trenches, how quickly could I put on my "gas mask"?

I think the values I gained from my time in the Air Force have translated into all walks of my life.  Having a duty of care and sense of pride and professionalism in what we do - trying to do the best we can for the members of our group - setting an example for young people - to be conscious that not everyone approaches these tours from the same place - to respond to that in an honest, mature, respectful manner - to work as part of a team to get the job done. 

Skills can come from a wide range of backgrounds; not just from the military. For myself, knowledge and use of a rifle comes in handy; having lived in field conditions on exercise in Germany helps a little in better understanding how soldiers lived in the trenches; how soldiers bonded together whilst in training and perhaps why individual acts of heroism and bravery took place when trying to save a comrade in arms.  

I joined for a life less ordinary, for what I hoped would be a big adventure and to be part of something which was bigger than just me. I would also add, the love of military history I developed from an early age also had a huge influence on my decision to join.

As a former infantryman, how I look at the ground and the tactics used is of course, heavily influenced by my own experience, and I love to bring that to life. After all, if you go to the effort to visit a battlefield, how the ground you are stood on influenced the battle is a huge part of the story.

The experience I had during my military career, I hope allows me to tell the story of the individuals involved in a battle from a position of empathy, rather than sympathy.

Anglia has over twenty five years' experience of delivering exceptional Battlefield Studies for the Military.

From the first moment you contact us, our highly experienced team will look after all your training requirements, answer your questions, offer guidance, and support you all the way through the process.

Find out more about our Military Tours for the Armed Forces, and request a quote to let us start planning your expert-led history tour.