Uniforms and Boats

This book follows the author through a lifetime of wearing uniform. It outlines the origins of his unconscious fascination with uniforms. The book charts, through a series of humorous stories and tales, the author's life from school to his current post as a coast guard officer. Raised in a military family, the author has served in the Royal Air Force (Marine Craft Units), Third Battalion; the Royal Irish Rangers (Mortar Platoon); the Royal Navy (HM submarines); and later, HM Coastguard. This unique career path has given him an insight into all three branches of the British armed forces. He has highlighted how humour played a significant part in the lives of those within the UK military and the emergency services.

One of my Fathers postings was to Berlin as part of the NATO forces stationed in that city to deter the hordes of Communists who were living in East Germany! Let me put this in context the British Army had stationed one squadron of Chieftain tanks, 14 in total, to face the 30 or so Soviet and East German Divisions on the other side of an 8 foot wall! In fact their base, Smuts Barracks, was adjoined to Spandau Prison, infamous for housing one of the last Nazi leaders to be convicted following the Nuremburg trials at the end of the Second World War. The only prisoner was Adolf Hitler's deputy, Rudolf Hess who was guarded in turn by British, American, French and Russian troops. The Russian guard force probably had more troops than our gallant British tank force!! But we had 14 nice shiny tanks, we could have delayed the communist hordes by about, oh I don't know, ten minutes. However the enemy were unaware that the British Army had a top secret and little known weapon in their arsenal, my Dad!