CONTENT

My guest today is former infantry officer Richard Westley OBE MC who recounts his extensive career in the British Army, starting with his motivation to join the Royal Welsh Fusiliers after Sandhurst in 1984.  Richard commanded soldiers on operations at every rank from Second Lieutenant to Colonel in environments as disparate as northern Ireland, Albania, Afghanistan, Cote d’Ivoire and the Balkans.  

He discusses his formative experiences in Northern Ireland, emphasizing the difficulties faced by young officers and the critical need to earn the respect of seasoned Welsh infantry soldiers.   In 1995 surrounded by the advancing Bosnian Serb Army in the exposed enclave of Gorazde his company fought to prevent the fall of the Town and saved its people from the fate of neighbouring Srebrenica. For his part in this he was awarded the Military Cross.

In 2007 he deployed with his battle group to Helmand province in Afghanistan where they occupied Gereshk, driving back the Taliban and securing the erstwhile financial capital of the Province.  Setting the conditions for the development of the town. He was appointed an OBE for this tour. Richard retired from the Army in 2010 having been responsible for all pre-deployment training for UK forces bound for Iraq and Afghanistan for the previous 3 years.

Richard's book choice on Desert Islands Dits is "The Catcher In The Rye" by JD Salinger. My choice is Ben Barry's book "The Rise And Fall Of The British Army 1975 - 2025".

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