Meet The Team

I was born in East Yorkshire in 1975 into a North Sea fishing family. Instead of joining the family business I became a Royal Marines Commando with aspirations of representing my country both as a marine and amateur boxer.

I served in 45 Commando as a sniper and I was deployed to Afghanistan twice during the recent conflict among several other operational theaters.
My experiences as an instructor and leader both on operations and in training have given me a transferable coaching ability that I now use to assist others in through life personal development. I am now very privileged to be in a position to support, coach and develop others through positive change.

I love music, the mountains and most activities on the water; I find these are the environments that keep me highly focused. In my spare time I enjoy being with my number one ROCK my wonderful family and my dogs.

I served in the military for 20 years altogether. I joined the Royal Marines Commandos when I was 16. My dad was a Bootneck and my brother a Bootneck too so you could say it runs in the family. At 26 I passed Special Forces selection and joined the SBS (Special Boat Service). I went onto serve with UK Special Forces for ten years.

My story began as I sat on a commanders course and we were given us a brief presentation on PTSD and what to look out for in our blokes. As I sat at the back of the classroom I couldn’t shake the feeling that I ticked a lot of those boxes.
It really hit home on a contact in Afghanistan. I remember being on my back in an irrigation ditch somewhere hot and deeply unpleasant being shot at and thinking “I just don’t want to do this anymore”.

Three months later it hit me that maybe I needed to get this seen to. There were big gaps in the way the military were able to help me and I admit that I struggled. Meeting Malcolm (now our Head of Coaching at Rock2Recovery) changed things for me and I realised that there wasn’t a single solution that would fit every PTS Injury and every veteran. Rock2Recovery uses whatever tool gets the best results with that particular veteran. It works, I’m the evidence.

I’m a bit of a rascal at heart and I’d probably describe myself as an old fashioned adventurer. Whether trekking to the North Pole, rowing the Atlantic as part of a record breaking team or being part of the dive team that finally located the treasure of the legendary Pirate Captain Kidd, I’m happiest when pushing myself and working with those around me to push themselves.

Initially a personal project, Al Webb (Photographer) had served as a Royal Marine Commando for many years and wanted to look at the experience of the men returning from the Great War of 1914 to 1918 and compare that to the experience he’d had and of the modern veteran returning home.

Al reached out to Dan, a friend with a passion for the History of the Great War, but specifically the Social history. The men and women who lived through it. Dan was also the owner of a tremendous moustache.

Around this time Jamie Sanderson, Co-Founder of Rock2Recovery, got in touch with Al to talk about a campaign to raise awareness around PTS injury and Rock2Recovery’s RSM Old Soldier was born. The team originally planned a one day shoot. “A days leave” was a short project intended to bring back a Great War veteran to modern Britain. It was shot in a day in the sun dappled back lanes of rural East Kent. We gave Jamie the images to use as he saw fit.

The results of that first Old Soldier shoot resonated with both Veterans and serving members of the forces alike and helped a number of people to reach out where they had hesitated before.

We had originally planned to return the Old Soldier to his grave in Flanders after his one days “leave”. The response to him was overwhelming. We realised we couldn’t let him go, the Old Soldier could help, he had a job to do.

What had only been a short personal project grew into an ongoing project for R2R. The team’s involvement has led directly to Al working with some of R2R’s coaches and helping him to quieten the “ghosts” of his past. It has also led to Dan starting to train as a coach for R2R.

Since September 2015 The Old Soldier team has been deeply involved with every aspect of the work Rock2Recovery does. The team has provided awareness campaigns, self-financing shoots across the UK, France & Belgium and providing support for fundraising, talks and events around the UK.
The team brings an important historical context to the modern veterans experience of PTS injury by looking at the way mental health issues have been dealt with from Shell Shock in WW1, through the Battle Fatigue diagnoses of WW2 and Korea and ultimately to today and PTS injury as a result of service in Northern Ireland, The Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and other active theatres of operation around the globe..

Al and Dan directly help too. Acting as triage when people reach out, not only supporting veterans but serving men and women as well as their families and friends. Stress and Trauma injury impacts not only us but everyone around us. We are passionate about doing what we can to support these men and women and help them change their lives for the better.

The Old Soldier is a presence that has created a sense of security and comfort for people looking for help and he continues to be there for those who need support.

“The only thing that has changed is the uniform.” – The Old Soldier