Land, Sea & Air - Stories from the Armed Forces
67 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago -Company of Makers exists to support veterans and their families who are struggling on civvy street no matter how long ago they left the armed forces. We do this by running a programme of Podcasts | Talks | Workshops.
Homepage Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Battle of the Atlantic: Sailing in Convoys through 'No Man's Land'
November 12, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 43.3 MBKen Benbow Served in the 7th Escort Group in the Atlantic convoys. With no torpedoes, just guns and depth charges to protect Allied merchant ships from U-Boats, they sailed back and forth through ‘No Man’s Land’, 1,500 miles of ocean with no air cover, being “attacked every hour by the Germans”. Age 17, Ken went from working on a farm to Serving in the Royal Navy and his story is at the very heart of The Battle of The Atlantic. This podcast is supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines C...
The Battle of the Atlantic: Hurricanes Launched by Catapults and Rockets
November 11, 2023 07:00 - 51 minutes - 35.3 MBCatapult-Armed Merchant “CAM” ship pilots flew highly secretive one-way missions. David Wright was one of only a handful and their stories are little known. Using rockets and catapults mounted on merchant ships, Hurricane fighter planes were launched to shoot down German planes. With no flight deck to land on, pilots had to bail out seconds before the planes sank into the Atlantic. We’ll hear two war time stories, Norma Wright’s, who joined the National Fire Service; and David’s, her late...
Battle of the Atlantic: The Worst Journey in the World
November 10, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBAtlantic and Arctic Convoy Veteran, Ron Syson, gives us a gritty account of life as a Merchant Seaman. Very early on, he sailed to Iceland, Greenland and New York, and was alongside when the Normandy caught fire and capsized. He was only 15. As well as transporting vital supplies across the Atlantic to Britain, Ron braved the Arctic seas in what Churchill described as, “the worst journey in the world.” Added to the Nazi threat were sub-zero temperatures, weeks of constant darkness in winte...
The Battle of the Atlantic: The U-Boat Peril
November 09, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 45.9 MBWinston Churchill once wrote, “... the only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-Boat peril”. If The Allies had lost, Britain would have been starved into surrender. 99-year-old John Roberts gives us a fantastic insight into The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest running campaign of WWII. John left the Royal Navy as a Rear Admiral, having joined-up aged 17 in 1938. When he first went to sea in 1941, The Allies were suffering terrible losses. John explains how the...
Op Telic: And Then The Nightmare Began
March 27, 2023 03:00 - 1 hour - 56 MBPaula’s story is about the loss of her husband, Paul Harding, who Served in the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Green Jackets. He joined-up at 18 and was killed in action aged 47, in Basra 2007. We hear about being under attack, fatality and bereavement. If you feel that you might be sensitive to this, you may prefer not to listen. This emotional, difficult story “shows the tenacity and bravery of my two sons, and how we've recovered from the loss of their wonderful father.” “Paul told me ‘......
Op Telic: The First Casualties
March 26, 2023 04:00 - 47 minutes - 32.5 MBTip Cullen, former Royal Marines Commando tells us about losing 8 of his friends in the very first operation of Op Telic 1. He’s telling this story “...to keep their memory alive” and “...for the families that had to deal with the consequences…” also for “...people to empathise with their sacrifice, or their will to protect what we call freedom…Those people were legends…” “We deployed as a Brigade Recce Force...mostly Royal Marines Commandos, main disciplines Mountain Leaders or specialist...
Op Telic: The Real Sinister Element Reared its Head
March 25, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 61.3 MBKirk Bowett Served in The Cheshire Regiment and his deployment to the Middle East began during Op Telic 4, 2004. We hear about his personal experiences of the realities of war, which includes details of injury and loss of limb. If you feel that you might find this challenging, you may prefer not to listen. “I was part of the recce element…in Basra City…the infrastructure had failed, no sanitation…We were initially met with open arms…” They tried to help “...hearts and minds…” But there we...
Op Telic: From 'Ops Junky' to 'Combat Intelligence'
March 24, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 51.8 MBPiers Stacey, aged 17, joined The Corps, “…six days after the Twin Towers were hit…” Joining 42 Commando late 2002, “...we all went into pre-deployment training for the build-up..it was pretty intense, pretty rapid for a fresh faced 18 year old…” In Kuwait, “...we landed in the desert…nothing there…over time, defences went up, sandbag walls…” and acclimatisation training, “...we kept our phys up and exercised out in the heat so we could condition ourselves to be able to fight in that way…”...
Op Telic: The Heat Smacked You In The Face
March 23, 2023 04:00 - 1 hour - 43 MBNeville Johnson left South Africa and joined the British Army in 2003. After basic training, he joined the 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers on a cease-fire tour in Belfast, “Those first couple of weeks were a big eye opener for me, definitely paved the way for future operations…” Neville deployed to Basra in 2005 and 2006, duties including night and daytime patrols, working with special forces units or the parachute regiment during raids, apprehending personnel of interest, long ...
Op Telic: You Don't Know How Good Your Unit Is Until You Go To War
March 22, 2023 07:00 - 1 hour - 54.2 MBWe meet Sarah Davis, Army Air Corps Ground Crew, one of the pioneering women deployed to the frontline during Op Telic 1. Having joined-up in 1999, a time when the Armed Forces was going through changes - evolving in terms of equality and a time that would mark the start of several years of military campaigns. We hear about getting ready to go, “I was kind of craving…doing my bit for Queen and Country…” As well as operational duties in a combat zone, refuelling and rearming attack helicop...
Op Telic: Flying at 100 Feet, 120 Miles an Hour Across the Desert
March 21, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 58.1 MBThis is Pat Patterson’s story. A Royal Marine Aircrewman with 845 Naval Air Squadron flying Sea King helicopters aka ‘Junglies’, and his wife also served during the war. Having looked back through his helicopter logbook, he shares with us his experiences of Op Telic 1, as well as his subsequent tours. We hear about the scale of the operation as well as operational complexities specific to helicopter crews that fly into particularly challenging environments, “It was a bit more dangerous go...
Op Telic: The Closer We Got To The Gulf, The More Real It All Got
March 20, 2023 09:00 - 1 hour - 67.9 MBWe hear from Andy Merry, 40 Commando, who Served during Op Telic and whose mum marched in the anti-war protests. Andy was first in to the Al-Faw Peninsula with the US Navy SEALs to capture strategic targets. This is his personal account of his experiences and he talks about the realities of war, which includes details of injury and death. If you feel that you might find this challenging, you may prefer not to listen. We also hear about Andy’s life after war. He’s now a ‘Beefeater’ at t...
My House was Searched at Gun Point
June 13, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 43.1 MB“They…took my husband through our house at gunpoint searching for 'the enemy', as they called them.” Falkland Islander, Carol Phillips, had 3 small children in 1982, “My first thought was…'Are they going to…machine gun us all down?’” The task force had 8,000 miles to sail, “Perhaps we would all be dead by the time they got here?…My Dad…kept saying, 'Don't let them see you're scared…The British Bulldogs are on their way.'” Fighting started, “…to lose all those young men…it really was a nigh...
Falklands War: My House was Searched at Gun Point
June 13, 2022 12:00 - 1 hour - 43.1 MB“They…took my husband through our house at gunpoint searching for 'the enemy', as they called them.” Falkland Islander, Carol Phillips, had 3 small children in 1982, “My first thought was…'Are they going to…machine gun us all down?’” The task force had 8,000 miles to sail, “Perhaps we would all be dead by the time they got here?…My Dad…kept saying, 'Don't let them see you're scared…The British Bulldogs are on their way.'” Fighting started, “…to lose all those young men…it really was a nigh...
A Dull Thud, Extreme Heat, a Flash, a Fireball
June 12, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 54 MB“'I'm not going to lose my life…here'…I could just see a picture of my wife and my two boys in my mind thinking, 'No, I'm gonna get out.' That was my motivation.” Chris Howe was deep down inside HMS Coventry, D118, “…a dull thud…followed by extreme heat…a flash and a fireball whipping around the Operations Room…we'd been hit…next thing I knew…I'm coming round…my right arm was on fire…water was coming in…fires all around…thick black smoke…I…managed to get up…very badly burned…in a lot of pa...
Falklands War: A Dull Thud, Extreme Heat, a Flash, a Fireball
June 12, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 54 MB“'I'm not going to lose my life…here'…I could just see a picture of my wife and my two boys in my mind thinking, 'No, I'm gonna get out.' That was my motivation.” Chris Howe was deep down inside HMS Coventry, D118, “…a dull thud…followed by extreme heat…a flash and a fireball whipping around the Operations Room…we'd been hit…next thing I knew…I'm coming round…my right arm was on fire…water was coming in…fires all around…thick black smoke…I…managed to get up…very badly burned…in a lot of pa...
None of Us Believed it Would Really Happen
June 11, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 41 MB“I would happily go to sea with them all over again, cracking bunch of guys, led by a cracking man.” We hear from Mick Dilucia, of HMS Coventry Flight, Coventry’s helicopter team. “The mood was fairly relaxed heading south… none of us believed it was ever going to happen…then Sandy Woodward briefed us… 'Look around amongst us because we might not all go home together…'” Mick was on the flightdeck on that fateful day, 25 May 1982, “…the order was given to turn to starboard...and that's when...
Falklands War: None of Us Believed it Would Really Happen
June 11, 2022 07:00 - 59 minutes - 41 MB“I would happily go to sea with them all over again, cracking bunch of guys, led by a cracking man.” We hear from Mick Dilucia, of HMS Coventry Flight, Coventry’s helicopter team. “The mood was fairly relaxed heading south… none of us believed it was ever going to happen…then Sandy Woodward briefed us… 'Look around amongst us because we might not all go home together…'” Mick was on the flightdeck on that fateful day, 25 May 1982, “…the order was given to turn to starboard...and that's when...
The Silent Service
June 10, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MBWhat was a submarine doing in a war to retake The Falkland Islands? “...the ability to land and recover Special Forces…SAS and SBS, was key.” We hear the fascinating and poignant story of HMS Onyx, the only diesel-electric boat that Served during the war. Submariner, Steve Hussey, was there and shares his unique insight, from beneath the waves, “None of this is done in daylight…surveillance takes place beforehand…if all the conditions are right…getting…as close as you can get these guys and ...
Falklands War: The Silent Service
June 10, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 41.5 MBWhat was a submarine doing in a war to retake The Falkland Islands? “...the ability to land and recover Special Forces…SAS and SBS, was key.” We hear the fascinating and poignant story of HMS Onyx, the only diesel-electric boat that Served during the war. Submariner, Steve Hussey, was there and shares his unique insight, from beneath the waves, “None of this is done in daylight…surveillance takes place beforehand…if all the conditions are right…getting…as close as you can get these guys and ...
Falklands War: You Really Wanted to Do Your Bit
June 09, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 52.2 MB“I was in a pub in Aldershot…a couple of the guys came in with the paper…and the general feeling was that we needed to get over there…and start kicking some arse.” This is the story of 2 Para, told through the eyes of Gary Steele, who Served in the battalion during The Falklands War. “We needed to do something, and Goose Green was the something that we did. We set off at night, we left rucksacks behind, everyone was just loaded-up with as much ammunition as they could take…” Amidst the ...
You Really Wanted to Do Your Bit
June 09, 2022 11:00 - 1 hour - 52.2 MB“I was in a pub in Aldershot…a couple of the guys came in with the paper…and the general feeling was that we needed to get over there…and start kicking some arse.” This is the story of 2 Para, told through the eyes of Gary Steele, who Served in the battalion during The Falklands War. “We needed to do something, and Goose Green was the something that we did. We set off at night, we left rucksacks behind, everyone was just loaded-up with as much ammunition as they could take…” Amidst the ...
Falklands War: It's a Strange Thing is War
June 08, 2022 17:00 - 1 hour - 45.5 MB“You’ve got the battles, then you’ve got the humanitarian side…It’s a strange thing is war…” This is the astonishing story of how a North Sea passenger ferry and her civilian crew, became a troop carrier, rescue ship and prisoner of war ship; in the thick of the firing, bombs and air attacks of The Falklands War. The entire operation would have been impossible without the merchant ships taken up from trade and requisitioned. But, how did they come to play critical roles in a war 8,000 mile...
It's a Strange Thing is War
June 08, 2022 17:00 - 1 hour - 45.5 MB“You’ve got the battles, then you’ve got the humanitarian side…It’s a strange thing is war…” This is the astonishing story of how a North Sea passenger ferry and her civilian crew, became a troop carrier, rescue ship and prisoner of war ship; in the thick of the firing, bombs and air attacks of The Falklands War. The entire operation would have been impossible without the merchant ships taken up from trade and requisitioned. But, how did they come to play critical roles in a war 8,000 mile...
The Dockyard is a Worker of Miracles
June 07, 2022 18:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MB“The First Sea Lord… decreed that HMS Hermes was under just 72 hours’ notice to sail…” It’s the day after the Argentinians invaded The Falklands and Margaret Thatcher announces that Britain would send a task force. Just a few days later, the task force was ready for war. This is the story of the dockyard workers who rose to that challenge, many of whom had just received redundancy notice. Flagship HMS Hermes was in a state of disrepair, “…an assisted maintenance period in Portsmouth Royal ...
Falklands War: The Dockyard is a Worker of Miracles
June 07, 2022 18:00 - 41 minutes - 28.2 MB“The First Sea Lord… decreed that HMS Hermes was under just 72 hours’ notice to sail…” It’s the day after the Argentinians invaded The Falklands and Margaret Thatcher announces that Britain would send a task force. Just a few days later, the task force was ready for war. This is the story of the dockyard workers who rose to that challenge, many of whom had just received redundancy notice. Flagship HMS Hermes was in a state of disrepair, “…an assisted maintenance period in Portsmouth Royal ...
Falklands War: British Sovereign Territory Has Been Invaded by a Foreign Power
June 06, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 53.3 MB“For the last 40 years, (we’ve been) trying to get the truth told about what happened on the day that it all kicked off, 2nd April 1982.” This is that true story. “…We didn’t just surrender as the popular story goes.” Ray Bloye was part of Naval Party 8901, the small detachment of Royal Marines on the Falklands at the time of the invasion. The portrayal of NP8901 by the British press led to 40 years of hurt, “The Daily Mail headline, ‘Shamed’…The Sun, ‘Surrender’. Ray hopes that the re...
British Sovereign Territory Has Been Invaded by a Foreign Power
June 06, 2022 09:00 - 1 hour - 53.3 MB“For the last 40 years, (we’ve been) trying to get the truth told about what happened on the day that it all kicked off, 2nd April 1982.” This is that true story. “…We didn’t just surrender as the popular story goes.” Ray Bloye was part of Naval Party 8901, the small detachment of Royal Marines on the Falklands at the time of the invasion. The portrayal of NP8901 by the British press led to 40 years of hurt, “The Daily Mail headline, ‘Shamed’…The Sun, ‘Surrender’. Ray hopes that the re...
Toby Harnden, Author of First Casualty
March 10, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MB“…what has become my specialism, I think is… gritty, granular detail of the reality of war set in the broader context of important national events…” Having joined the Royal Navy in 1985, Toby managed to pack-in trips round the West Indies, Australia, Hong Kong and Europe during his 10 years of Service. His thirst for adventure remaining unquenched, he began a successful career as a journalist, becoming a foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph specialising in ter...
Toby Harnden, Author of First Casualty
March 10, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 48.2 MB“…what has become my specialism, I think is… gritty, granular detail of the reality of war set in the broader context of important national events…” Having joined the Royal Navy in 1985, Toby managed to pack-in trips round the West Indies, Australia, Hong Kong and Europe during his 10 years of Service. His thirst for adventure remaining unquenched, he began a successful career as a journalist, becoming a foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph specialising in ter...
Ian Cumming MBE, RAF Veteran & CEO Erskine
February 24, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MB“I joined the RAF during the Cold War in 1986… around the time of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the threat of… thermo-nuclear war.” After going down the pilot route, it became apparent where Ian was more suited, “…the RAF Regiment who seemed larger than life… I met their Commanding Officer who had an unusual approach to dealing with banter in the bar, which normally involved throwing pilots out of windows and I was just kind of smitten… (laughs)” So, about that banter, “The RAF Regiment ...
Peter Kelly, Royal Marine & CEO at imployable
February 10, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 46.2 MB“I lost my purpose at that point… I had no mission and I really started contemplating what I'd done wrong. I couldn't go back…” A far cry from Entrepreneur of the Year, Peter’s transition from the Royal Marines to the business world was challenging, “I joined a company... my first foray into civilian world… it was a really toxic, horrible environment… probably the worst experience I could've had.” Months of being unemployed followed leading Peter joined the Reserves, “I kept my rank. I w...
Lieutenant Commander Oli Brown
January 27, 2022 10:00 - 51 minutes - 35.6 MB“I'm a Lieutenant Commander Serving in the Royal Navy, Serving a full, capable career. Oh, by the way, I have HIV.” Oli found out by accident and his 2019 diagnosis came as a complete shock. His first 3 thoughts were: What is my life going to be like? When am I going to die? And do I still have a job? “I realised quite rapidly, I'm not going to die... and that's the simple fact of HIV for people in the UK today, I can do whatever I want and I put no one else at risk. The third one ...
Pam Healy, CEO British Liver Trust
January 13, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 43.9 MB“They could only work until they didn't fit in their uniform, so the aim was always to circulate the skirts until no skirt would fit them….” Joining us this episode is former WREN Officer and Reservist, Pam Heeley, who explains how women were not allowed to remain in the Navy once they had children; and as there was no maternity uniform, pregnant women had to leave when their skirts no longer fitted. Thankfully, times have changed. With ‘secret communications’, the handover of Hong Kong,...
Pam Healy, CEO British Liver Trust
January 13, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 43.9 MB“They could only work until they didn't fit in their uniform, so the aim was always to circulate the skirts until no skirt would fit them….” Joining us this episode is former WREN Officer and Reservist, Pam Heeley, who explains how women were not allowed to remain in the Navy once they had children; and as there was no maternity uniform, pregnant women had to leave when their skirts no longer fitted. Thankfully, times have changed. With ‘secret communications’, the handover of Hong Kong,...
Happy New Year!
December 31, 2021 06:00 - 23 minutes - 16.4 MBJoin us as we head into 2022 to hear the New Year’s Resolutions of 10 of our Armed Forces podcast guests. Actually, before we crack on, let’s put it straight out there, 2 of our guests don’t make resolutions! One thing that ties everyone's hopes and reflections together is sense of purpose and wellbeing. Here are a few of their words of wisdom, but can you guess who said what? “Eat more cake”… “Spend more time working on myself”… “work towards what I'm going to do post the military”… “aski...
Craig Jones MBE, Joint CEO at Fighting With Pride
October 21, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 42.6 MBIn 1989, just before training began, “I realised, that I'd bought this copy of the Radio Times because it had a picture of Michael Ball on the front cover and… let me tell you that 30 years ago, Michael Ball was quite hot property...” “…I thought well, ‘that's an incredible complication because in three weeks' time, I'm going to Royal Naval College, Dartmouth and that doesn't fit.’ But it just didn't seem relevant… the only people I thought might be gay were Larry Grayson and perhaps John ...
Alistair Halliday, CEO RFEA - The Forces Employment Charity
October 07, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 44.1 MB“HMS Manchester… I was playing on the bridge wing once and… the Club Swinger… came out and started doing The Sailor's Hornpipe… and so I was… on my accordion and she was dancing it superbly... and then… we had an idea, 'Let's get a team together'. So, we put a thing on daily orders for… 9, a mixture, male and female from the ship's company, and then… she drilled them and trained them and that was our party piece... So for these big receptions, I remember doing one in Quebec and one in Montre...
Commander Pascal Patterson, Stars and Spokes
September 22, 2021 15:00 - 54 minutes - 37.4 MB“Everyone in the military loves a couple of idiots going off and doing a big physical challenge and that's what we are, and that's what we're doing.” Having live streamed daily chats with Pascal throughout his recent ‘LEJOG’ bike ride – that’s Land’s End to John O’Groats to you and I, we catch-up with him as he reflects on what was achieved in support of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC) and how it’s prepared him for his epic cycle challenge across America next year with Sta...
Tip Cullen, Royal Marine and Actor
July 15, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 42.8 MB“It's a bit like what we used to call in the Royal Marines… 'babbin’ your wack'… when you're proper pooing yourself before you go and do something.” Royal Marine (RM) turned professional actor, Tip, is a ‘story-teller’ and as a young man in Belfast, he had an epiphany, “I knew that I had to become a Royal Marines Commando.” 30 years later, RM Captain, Tip, having achieved his goal of being a Mountain Leader, had another epiphany, “Be a storyteller… I thought, ‘Acting... that's a form of st...
Monty Halls, Royal Marine, Filmmaker & Marine Biologist
July 01, 2021 07:00 - 59 minutes - 40.7 MB“The thing I would say to anyone who's leaving the Services or has left the Services is, ‘Do not underestimate your ability to pull things off…” Royal Marine (RM) turned marine biologist and TV presenter, Monty left the Corps in ’96, “I look back on it with the fondest, fondest memories… all my best mates, my best muccas are still bootnecks that I Served with, or joined-up with… a real eclectic mix as well… you've got eccentrics, heathen kings, warriors, intellectuals, loose cannons; a rea...
Chief Petty Officer John Lewis, Founder Males Tales
June 17, 2021 09:00 - 41 minutes - 28.7 MB“When it comes down to mental health issues, I feel that a lot of it can be helped with just breaking that habit of what your brain's been through… If you watched a film and you thought it was rubbish, you wouldn't put it on again, you’d put something else on!” Submariner, John is part of HMND Clyde’s Recovery Cell, looking after the day-to-day lives of people who cannot sail with their unit for serious disciplinary or medical reasons including mental health issues, “When it comes down t...
Kay Hallsworth, Operations Manager, Association of Royal Navy Officers
June 03, 2021 09:00 - 47 minutes - 33 MB“Being yourself at work…” as easy as it sounds? “…in the military, there is a stereotype of what a military person is… and over the past 30 or 40 years, we've made some changes. So we've increased the number of women that are Serving… it's no longer illegal to be homosexual within the Armed Forces, we've got more Commonwealth personnel Serving with us. We are a very diverse organisation now, but some people still feel they have to mirror that stereotype… to get on in the world. …I hid my i...
Chief Petty Officer Janine Potts, Deputy Race and Ethnicity Inclusion Advocate Royal Navy
May 20, 2021 09:00 - 32 minutes - 22.4 MB“The Navy? What is that?!” Few Royal Navy sailors started their careers with that question, but then most Royal Navy sailors didn’t grow up in land-locked Zimbabwe. Janine arrived in England aged 19, having been invited by her aunt when Janine felt she needed to leave Zimbabwe due to the political unrest of the 1990s, “So I left, came to London and it was exciting. I’d never left Africa before. It was a cultural shock and London was just buzzing.” Next, Janine needed to figure out, “How do ...
Mark Ormrod MBE, Royal Marine and Motivational Speaker
May 06, 2021 09:00 - 1 hour - 44 MB“Just try for a day. Keep your legs, but just take your dominant arm and put it behind your back… and look at the challenges that come just from that… and then try and multiply that by 10.” Before the incident, “I was 6’2, 16 stone, at the peak of my physical fitness, everything that in my mind, I thought an alpha male should be and I was living the dream… now, all of a sudden, boom! …without my prosthetic legs on, I'm four foot two.” At 16, having decided that he wanted to “make something...
Mandy Hickson, RAF Tornado Pilot and Motivational Speaker
April 22, 2021 09:00 - 49 minutes - 33.9 MBTornado Pilot, Mandy, Served for 17 years in the Royal Air Force. Yes, you know we can’t resist, “Highway to the danger zone…..” OK, Top Gun reference out of the way and onto business. Literally, actually. Having left the RAF 10 years ago, Mandy runs her own business as a Motivational Speaker, taking lessons learned from aviation into businesses and schools. Mandy‘s grandfather, a pilot in World War II, was her inspiration to fly fast jets; but she failed the RAF aptitude tests to become a...
David Noyes RN Retd, Chief Operating Officer, Solent NHS Trust
April 08, 2021 09:00 - 49 minutes - 33.9 MB“The whole NHS has really stood up and been there when the country needed it most.” Two careers linked by Public Service. The first, 28 years in the Royal Navy with “Lots of sea-time”; followed by a career in the NHS, “Making a difference to people, making people’s lives better.” Having joined-up at 18, David’s varied Naval career included work at sea on board Type 22 Frigates, shore-based at Whitehall and as Logistics Commander at Portsmouth Dockyard, followed by a secondment to the Arm...
Leading Writer Rebecca 'Bex' Fyans MBE, Advocate for Down Syndrome & Naval Servicewoman of the Year.
March 25, 2021 10:00 - 44 minutes - 30.3 MB“It’s not something to be scared of… they are a little bit different, but with the right care and nourishment they can thrive and they can be awesome.” When Bex’s son was born with Down’s Syndrome, being his advocate became her sense of purpose. Since then, Bex has helped to support other families who have children with Down’s and has been working to raise awareness; volunteering with the Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association, Chronic Conditions and Disability in Defence Network (CanDiD) an...
Sam Seeley – Royal Marine and Filmmaker
March 11, 2021 10:00 - 54 minutes - 37.4 MB“If you know any bootnecks… we love breaking the rules!” But what we don’t expect to hear is this RM attitude applied to creativity. “Learn the rules like a basic or an amateur so can break them like a pro” …this is the ethos the three bootnecks turned film-makers on Sunray live by. ‘Sunray’, meaning “Troop Boss or The Boss in Marine slang” also alludes to a ray of hope and came out of a difficult time in Sam’s life. Sam started writing as a release. 150 ideas on post-it notes and the thou...
Hugo Mitchell-Heggs, Submariner and Atlantic Rower
February 25, 2021 10:00 - 41 minutes - 28.5 MB“Flying fish are a nightmare… they fire off the water like missiles.” Why would this bother a submariner, you might ask? For Hugo, life beneath the waves was swapped for life on the waves when he roped his three shipmates… can you call submariners shipmates? Anyway, when they all embarked upon the adventure of competing in a rowing race across the Atlantic Ocean… “If they get caught by a gust of wind, we’re talking thirty to forty knots of wind out there; they hammer across the sky, whist...