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    Climbing the Army Ladder
    Unavailable
    Climbing the Army Ladder
    Unavailable
    Climbing the Army Ladder
    Ebook370 pages6 hours

    Climbing the Army Ladder

    By Brig John Gray

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    This book by retired Army Officer Brig John Gray is an intimate and vivid portrait of a fascinating life spent serving around the world during thirty-three years in the British Army. It is an absorbing account of a career from humble beginnings at the end of the Second World War, through colourful and at times unique experiences, as he progressed up the army ladder.

    Along the way, we encounter many personalities, some hugely amusing and some less so. The chapters give a light-hearted account of his unique experiences and are full of interesting facts and personalities with humorous incidents and anecdotes.

    It depicts a marvellously varied life, mostly serving alongside soldiers of other nations, often as a key figure in events that were vitally important at the time. He was responsible for the formation and review of defence forces around the world, often living in the countries concerned dealing with the complexities of foreign customs and politics. John also tells the story of being on active service in the jungles of Malaya, and also in Borneo and in Northern Ireland at the height of the troubles.

    This is a must-read book for anyone who was in the British Army during the immediate post-war years at the height of the cold war and the aftermath of Britain granting independence to many of its former colonies and protectorates. It will also appeal to anyone who wishes to know more about army life in those far-off days.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherXlibris UK
    Release dateJun 23, 2010
    ISBN9781450078962
    Unavailable
    Climbing the Army Ladder
    Author

    Brig John Gray

    Brig John Gray was born in 1927 and educated in England. He was in the British Army for thirty-three years, on loan service with Indian, Malay, Gurkha, Arab and African soldiers in addition to the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, his British Regiment. He fought in the Malayan anti-terrorist campaign for five years in the 1950s with the Malay Regiment and also in the Borneo campaign against Indonesian insurgents, with the Brigade of Gurkhas. He formed from scratch the First Infantry Regiment of the Abu Dhabi Defence Force and also the British Army training team in Malawi. A graduate of the British Army Staff College, John held many staff appointments including assistant chief of staff in Northern Ireland for over two years in the mid-1970s where he was responsible for the logistic support and personnel matters of twenty-two thousand soldiers operating from over one hundred bases. His final army appointment was in the Ministry of Defence, where for three years he provided a military consultancy service to friendly countries that asked for British assistance. This included designing the defence forces of Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, reviewing the forces of Barbados, Belize and Bermuda and also advising many governments on defence matters, including Kuwait, Iran, Grenada, Ghana, Kenya and Malaysia. Taking early retirement as a brigadier in 1980, he set up a business in southern Africa, living in Swaziland and Botswana moving to South Africa in 1993, living in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Kwa Zulu Natal where he is now based. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and has business interests in Botswana, Swaziland and Singapore. He is married to his second wife with a daughter born in October 1999 and has a son, a daughter and five grandchildren from his first marriage. Although 83 years old, he is very fit and his main recreational activities are reading, wine tasting and golf.

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