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Will Blackburn resides in Poland. He is a former Royal Military Police Reserve. He started in the London Regiment and decided to cross over to the RMP TA at Brixton. In 2003 the war in Iraq meant that his unit was mobilised to Op Telic 3 and served there for 6 months. The tour that he went on was immediately after 6 members of 156 Provost Company were killed.

He did his basic training took place at Pirbright which had been a guard’s depot. All elements of the TA attended this centre so Will got to meet members from other regiments. Basic training changed over time to make them battle ready. This training gave him good grounding for his work in Ukraine.

We discuss recruitment within the armed forces and the demise of recruitment by outsourcing to private companies.

Will went to Chilwell to prepare for deployment to Iraq and was then bussed to Germany to wait for transport to Iraq. As they waited, they were given additional training in driving and weapons handling which will found invaluable. Will and his colleagues took a direct flight in a military chartered aircraft to Basra. Being part of Rover Group meant that Will operated as an escort and driver. Will recalls incidents where there was contact with the enemy.

We discuss fatalities and Op Minimise and the fall of Nasaria. As the fall took place Will was told that the was likely to be held back and the demob date was on hold. However, this changed position changed ad having been de-kitted he was placed on an aircraft and flew back to Cyprus and then to Brize Norton in the UK. He was transported back by bus to Nottingham and sent home! He arrived back to Paddington wearing his desert combats and having to prepare adjusting back to civvie street without any decompression. Will found the transition difficult and this took several months before life normalised.

In later year Will met and married his wife who is Polish. They relocated from the UK to northern Poland. At the commencement of the Ukraine Russia war there was a drive to find military equipment. Utilising the website army rumour service www.arrse.co.uk by the end of 2022 Will was invited to take part in the convoy to the frontline hand delivering much needed supplies to the troops. He has been to the Donbas and other areas that have been ravaged by war.

He spent time with the fighting drone unit. The skills displayed are incredible. At one point he was 3k from the zero line. Will has become an author and describes his experiences in his book The War Next Door. https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-...

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John Bateman is a former member of Hertfordshire Police and prior to joining he was a merchant seaman and served as a navigator. He undertook this role before GPS and computers steered these sea going vessels.

Using a sextant and understanding the old techniques John successfully guided his vessels around the world. John chose to follow his father’s footsteps by joining Hertfordshire.

His initial training took place at Ashford Police Training School and enjoyed his time there but found it frustrating as he had held responsibility in the navy, and this didn’t seem to count in his training. His first posting was St Albans and vividly remembers foot patrol including the call sign Foxtrot 101.

John progressed to CID and worked on a variety of cases including the Patrick Hurling murder in Hertford on 1st Dec 1990. This case remains unsolved. In 1992 he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis his diagnosis came after he had collision in a Police vehicle. John had unusual symptoms, and the doctors announced that he had this debilitating illness.

In 1994 John left the job and went into private industry. He went to work at a private detective agency working with Roger Pritchard.

John is on the board of the IPI – Institute of Professional Investigators www.ipi.org.uk and endeavours to ensure that investigators have credibility and integrity.

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Kevin's inspiration to join the Police was prompted by a robbery where at the age of 14 he was held at knifepoint and his pedal cycle was stolen. He went on to see the suspect in a local park on the stolen bike. The police were contacted and when they arrived, they arrested the suspect and seized the bike. The rest as they say is history.

Kevin was 20 when he joined the Metropolitan Police, and the year was 1983. His service commenced in Edmonton and after 6 years transferred to King Cross. This area was not the affluent location that it is now!

The Harrods Bombing, The murder of Yvonne Fletcher and the Broadwater farm riots took place in his early years in the job.

Kevin describes the significant events and the Tottenham riots in particular; he was patrolling Southgate when he was told to return to base pick up his public order kit and travel to the infamous Broadwater Farm.

Kevin's love for cars help directed him to the stolen vehicle squad. It was during this time that he honed his skills as an investigator. He went on to lead a team at Kings Cross and headed missing persons enquires. One such was Paula Field, Her body was found minus its identifying features in a holdall in the canal at Camden.

He was invited to apply for the role in SO10 which specialised in undercover deployments and stayed in the role for 8 years. He found the role particularly political, and we discuss the issues in managing undercovers and the associated issues. During his time he became a hostage negotiator and recalls vividly the kidnap of a 10 year old boy.

He concluded his services a s Chief Superintendent and was an operational lead during the 2021 Olympics .

A memorable day during his service was the nail bombing in Old Compton Street at the Admiral Duncan Pub. He talks about a member of the public Named David Morley who had been injured in the explosion. This mans nickname was Cinders. He survived the bombing and was a very kind individual. A few years later Mr Morley was murdered on the South Bank by a group of youths.

Since leaving the Police Kevin has been behind the television shows “The Hunted” and “The Heist” He is now a published author and his book “Where The Evidence Takes Us” Is available from all good book sellers. John Sutherland and Adam Kay were inspirations and John has written has written a recommendation.

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