My Story
I joined the Army in 1996, at the ripe young age of 19, I was the typical kid from home, bored, lack of interest in my current job of stacking shelves for the cash and carry and wanting a change of scenery. Then after a few months of interviews and endless form filling I was away, with a fresh new haircut and eyes wide open I joined the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment. I served for 19 years in total, having a varied and interesting career that saw me sent overseas, living the excitement and adventure I so desired.
However, before long I quickly realised that there was a price to pay for the respect that people in Civvy street seemed only too happy to give us. And that price came when we were sent away on operations. With long, hard, sweat soaked days filled with fear, excitement, adrenalin and loneliness, coupled with the camaraderie of working with your friends, your colleagues and your brothers in arms. Friendships forged in the fire and heat of battle, that would stand the test of any length of time. And that was what got you by, knowing that you were all in it together as a team. I always have fond memories of my time in the forces, and certainly remember more of the good times than the bad, but, the bad times did exist, and I’d be a liar to say I was never scared.
So in 2014 I decided that I’d rolled the dice long enough and it was time to get out, which was when I hung up my guns for good and left the Army to settle down for a more sedate and peaceful life with my loving Wife.
And that is where I find myself now, after nearly ten years as a civilian and with the time and freedom to express myself and my thoughts through writing. So in early 2022 I took to writing the first few lines of the book which you all now know of to be ’24’. The plan originally was just to write, I found it rather cathartic to put my thoughts down on paper, but I found the more I wrote, the more I thought, the more I just had to write. Until finally after nearly two years of writing I found myself with enough pages to fill not just one book as originally planned, but three. And that is how the series Operation Fools Mate came about. I’ve written a number of articles that have been published in The European, MSN, NationalWorld, The London Economic and the Daily Star, and have included those articles in my news feed on this website. I’m telling you this not for bragging rights, but so if you want to read a little bit more about me, or see what my thoughts are on certain subjects, then you can go and have a read yourself. Anyway reader, there’s a brief outline of who I am and how I came to write the books. I’ve got more yet to give, and hope you enjoy reading the books, as much as I have enjoyed writing them.