The Old Bordenian Association

I must start by offering my thanks to the Headmaster for asking me to speak this evening. This is certainly an honour, and one that I never imagined would be gifted to me. My wife said that I had to be funny, but we will have to see where that goes, and how far I err away from my script. Interestingly Mr Vafeas found himself in an un-winnable situation this evening. With the choice of my close friend, Cris who is serving as a Major in the Parachute Regt, and myself, the boy who left Borden at the age of 16, defying calls to follow the traditional A level and university route, I honestly realise how lucky I am to be stood here this evening. Cris would be here but he is currently overseas having parachuted into the Pegasus Bridge memorial celebrations. He offers you all his apologies; unfortunately for you all he is much funnier than I am.

Of course this evening is about you, but I want to spend the next 10-15 minutes offering comment on the world from Briant’s perspective. I have always been taught never to say or write a message that you would not want to appear on the front page of the Sun, and also never to trust a journalist who uses the term ‘off the record’. What I say tonight are my thoughts, I will not get political, and hope not to see myself on the front page of the East Kent Gazette in the morning.

I am in total admiration of you all, and congratulate you on your achievements tonight. I had a difficult time at Borden. I had an elder brother who was blessed with the brains of the family, and I was resigned to follow in his footsteps. It did not take me long to realise that I was an individual, with my own ambitions and my own goals in life. When the Army Schools Liaison Officer visited Borden in 1991, Briant junior believed his hype. I should have known that the Tina Turner ‘Simply the Best’ soundtrack and the armoured vehicle bouncing through the sand dunes were probably too good to be true. The tanks are great fun, but I have not had the pleasure of seeing Tina in Iraq or Afghanistan. Cris also believed the hype, he stayed here for his A levels, took a gap year and then joined the Army. As I constantly remind him, that makes me a year senior to him, and really he should be calling me sir. Some hope. We have remained friends ever since, he was my best man in 2000, and now works with me in Bristol. He will deploy to Afghanistan next year, and my prayers will be with him.

The Army has been good to me. My wife says I am a kid who has never grown up, and that I am still playing soldiers. I know that she accepts how dangerous the job now is and I have learnt that the family undoubtedly suffers more when we deploy on operations. We want to go. It is our job, what we joined up for and what we believe we are paid for. My wife and daughter did not sign up, but often have to endure the hardships that I put them through. I must publicly thank them for that. I have been fortunate enough to serve on operations in Iraq, Bosnia and Cyprus, in addition to visiting an array of other countries. I have served on a number of assistance tasks in the UK, from fireman’s strikes through to aiding the police search for the victim of a particularly nasty murder. Currently I work in the executive responsible for providing equipment to our troops. You will have seen us in the papers, any piece of kit will be intrinsically linked to us from submarines to blankets and bullets. We live in exciting times, with troops committed now, overseas, on operations that are both dangerous and politically sensitive, and it is for those men and women who I have the utmost admiration. In fact that is one of the main reasons that I wanted to speak to you this evening. I passionately believe in what I do, not for political reasons, but I am committed to serve my country, and that includes doing what I am told to do, by whoever is in power at that time. I do what I do because I believe it is right, and that is the message that I want you to take away. Whatever you think or hear about what we do, remember that these soldiers are all humans, brothers, sisters, mums and dads, and please support them through their difficult times. There are more and more casualties every day, and we all have friends who will not be coming home. One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was knock on a stranger’s door, and tell her that her son had been killed in Afghanistan. It was probably one of the most emotional things I have ever done, but probably one of the most satisfying. Don’t get me wrong, it was far from easy, but I could be there for that family at their most difficult time, and do my utmost to help them. All I could do was treat this family as I would want my own treated if we were to find ourselves in a similar situation. They did not blame me or the Army, they knew that their son had died doing the job that he loved. That brought it home to me and all of my closest colleagues, my friends and my family. It could happen to any of us. I will undoubtedly be deployed to Afghanistan. I am reassured that my daughter’s school in Newcastle supports my family, and understands the difficult position that we are in. All I ask if that you are ever in a similar position, and find yourself in contact with service personnel or their families, that you do the same. Please treat them as humans, and spare a thought for the position that they may be in, and the sacrifices that they may have made. Sorry, that all got a little bit emotional.

When I decided to leave Borden at the age of 16, I had the support of my parents and a number of members of the school staff. I completed my Army entrance exams when I was 15 ½ and was selected to study A levels at Welbeck, the Army sixth form college in Nottinghamshire. Although not a conventional route, I knew it was the right route for me and have not looked back. I remember sitting in the hall on my last day of school, with 5 others boys who had decided to leave at the same time. I often wonder what has happened to them. I hope that they are well. I suppose I am trying to say that you should not worry too much about academia. I almost heard the sudden intake of breath from the staff then. Let me quantify my comment. Academia has its way of catching up with us all at the right time. I am completing a distance learning masters’ degree now, something I never thought I would do, especially having never studied for a degree. You may feel that a year out is the right thing to do, or that it is the right time to find a job, or start an apprenticeship. I can’t tell you that you are right or wrong, but you must pursue your chosen path in life. I thank my parents and those members of staff at the time for helping through one of the most difficult decisions of my life. In particular I would like to publicly thank John Macrae. Many of you will have heard of John, some will have met him. He is a stalwart of this school, a legend who now finds himself fighting his own battle with cancer, and I offer him my thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. John supported me, and we had some very grown up chats about life, the world and everything. We must now support him.

Teachers are a funny breed, I speak with some authority, my mother was a teacher in this area. It can be a thankless task, but equally gratifying when you see the fruits of your labour such as we do tonight. As public servants who have dedicated their lives to others, I associate with them, and would again like to publicly thank those around this room, please do not forget that without them you would not be here tonight. For all of us, it is immensely satisfying seeing you all sat here. I have trained 16 year old soldiers, and seeing a confident soldier marching off the square after a period of training, is one of the best feelings in the world. For us all to be sat here watching you, your parents, the staff and those of us looking in from the outside, it is refreshing to see young adults who strive to excel in their work, and who can be publicly recognised for it. Between you and the soldiers I have trained and those who I fight next to, I can be reassured that the world is in good hands for the future. We are all living in difficult, unpredictable times. Is this something to worry about, I think not. Ask your parents, your grandparents and their friends and they will all be able to tell you of difficult times. What must endure is your enthusiasm and positive attitude to succeed in whatever you decide to do. I chose to leave this school early and join the Army. Maybe green just suits me. It is not wrong to make your own choices in life, you may not decide to join the Army and you may have your own life plans. Don’t try to be someone else, just be you. All I ask is that whatever you do apply yourself to the task fully, strive to be the best, and always do what you believe and in your heart know to be right. Listen to the people around you; they have amassed a lot of experience, will always have your best interests at heart. Make sure you enjoy yourself; too many people forget life is meant to be fun.

I will come to a close soon. I know that I have failed in my task to be funny, and I can but apologise for that. I hope that I have portrayed the Armed Forces in a positive light, and that my message has been passed. Please support our troops, knowing that we have support in our actions does mean a great deal to us all. Our deal is to support you. You all deserve that support this evening, well done.

As soldiers we are taught to live by what we call the Values and Standards of the British Army. These should not come as a shock to anyone; they are Selfless Commitment, Respect for Others, Loyalty, Integrity, Discipline and Courage. Why do I raise these? Because I do not think they are a million miles away from the values and standards that we as Bordenians are also encouraged to adopt. You would not go far wrong if you understood these and applied them in your own lives.

I will stop, I am even boring myself. Thank you again for allowing me to bore you, and I hope that you enjoy this evening and all that it represents. It is for you, and is our opportunity to tell you how good you have been, and to encourage you to do even better in the future. I know that you will not let us down.