6 Months as a Troop Commander in 226 Signal Sqn (LEWT), Lt Gareth Gardner

My life as a Second Lieutenant began with an epic journey west through Wales on a bleak Sunday evening in January, and eventually led me to Cawdor Barracks, the home of 14th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) where I would take over as Romeo Troop Commander in 226 Signal Squadron (LEWT). Six months later I find …

Joining the British Army – becoming a recruit

(Originally posted in 2014) Recruit Andrew Vaughan is 25 years old and is about to start Phase 1 training at Army Training Regiment (ATR) Winchester, where he hopes to go on to join the Royal Artillery. The decision to join I've had a taste of Army life before because I previous applied to join the TA when I was …

Pacific Longbow – Step by step

Over the next year 180 soldiers will be embarking on an epic voyage in a test of endurance and stamina as Her Majesty’s Sail Training Craft ‘Discoverer’ casts off from the Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre in Gosport on Ex PACIFIC LONGBOW, a trip totalling more than 24,000 nautical miles. In October, as the …

A week on Exercise Pacific Longbow

A blog from Royal Signals troop commander, Alan Spaven Over the next year 180 soldiers will be embarking on an epic voyage in a test of endurance and stamina as Her Majesty’s Sail Training Craft ‘Discoverer’ casts off from the Joint Services Adventurous Sail Training Centre (JSASTCin Gosport on Ex PACIFIC LONGBOW, a trip totalling …

Reservist training – Signaller Paul Hutchinson

Paul Hutchinson is an ex-Regular, now a Reservist with 32 Signals Regiment, a Royal Signals Reserve unit based in Glasgow. As a Reservist, Paul is currently undertaking his basic training - Phase One Alpha. Completing that will enable him to undergo the next phase of training. This is his personal account of that process. I …

Army Medics in Armenia – Part 3

6 RIFLES Medics are deployed to Armenia on a Defence Engagement task, working alongside the Kansas National Guard in order to deliver medical training to the Armenian Fire Service.  Private (Pte) Rachel Ward highlights her initial impression of the deployment so far. The 26th was the last day that we would spend teaching at our …

A WW1 journey to Ypres – Part 4

Sapper George Ellis was born in Middlesex in 1896. He was 19 years old when he was sent to fight in the trenches of Northern France; first in 1915 and a second time in 1917. He married Kate Maud on 20th August 1915 before his first journey to the Somme, where he was injured. Spr …

Op TRENTON – Helping out in South Sudan

British troops are currently supporting the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), including the construction of a temporary field hospital in Bentiu. The UNMISS role in South Sudan is to protect civilians, create the conditions conducive to the delivery of humanitarian aid, and support the peace process and Human Rights. My experience of South Sudan so …

Final Entry

I’m sitting here in my clean and bare room in Victory Building at Sandhurst. Most things have been packed up now and put in the car and the only things of note that remain are my shiny boots and ceremonial ‘No. 1’ uniform for the Commissioning Parade tomorrow. This is my last night as an …

Army Medics in Armenia – Part 2

6 RIFLES Medics are deployed to Armenia on a Defence Engagement task, working alongside the Kansas National Guard in order to deliver medical training to the Armenian Fire Service.  Private (Pte) Rachel Ward highlights her initial impression of the deployment so far. The low point of my first day was when I was teaching the …

A WW1 journey to Ypres – Part 3

Sapper George Ellis was born in Middlesex in 1896. He was 19 years old when he was sent to fight in the trenches of Northern France; first in 1915 and a second time in 1917. He married Kate Maud on 20th August 1915 before his first journey to the Somme, where he was injured. Spr …