A twist of fate led to a long and successful Army career for a Wiltshire-based man.

Tom Robinson, now a major with the Collective Training Group, was just 17 when he gave a friend a lift to an Army careers office.

Failing at London's worst school and with no prospects, he decided to wait inside the office rather than in his battered Ford Escort. The decision would change his life forever.

Mr Robinson, who is based in Warminster, said: "It was a fluke. When I was about to leave the careers office, the old Green Jackets Sergeant thrust an appointment card at me and told me I was booked in for a BARB (British Army Recruit Battery) test the following week.

"In the absence of any other prospects, I thought I’d give it a go.”

Having faced severe family problems and a poor education, Mr Robinson entered the labour market underprepared and emotionally fragile.

He said: "It took me some years to develop my sense of self and the Army was instrumental in that.

"Today, I hardly recognise the boy I was before I joined the Army.

"I didn’t have any qualifications or social capital and was generally lacking confidence."

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The Army gave Mr Robinson the opportunity to make use of his passion for photography professionally on the frontline in Afghanistan, for the Prime Minister around the world, and most recently, teaching military colleagues in the Army’s Educational and Training Services (ETS).

He said: "The Army has not always been easy, but it has developed me massively over the years.

"I used my Enhanced Learning Credits to pay for an honours degree when I was a staff sergeant and I only wish I hadn’t waited that long.

"Since then, I have also completed a master’s degree, which was an unthinkable prospect before I joined the Army."

Mr Robinson's career highlights include serving in the Combat Camera Team in Afghanistan and photographing world leaders.

He said: "This was an enormous privilege as we were embedded with the frontline troops and bore witness to courage and dedication in the face of adversity every day."

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His trade led him to the heart of government and photographing world leaders.

He said: "The Number 10 team was relying on untrained press officers taking photos on iPhones.

"Someone realised the MOD had trained professional photographers and asked them to supply one for an experimental secondment programme.

"I was given the opportunity of being the first one and setting up the systems and establishing the role.

"I would travel the world and document the events the prime minister was attending."

Mr Robinson has travelled the world with the Army, deploying on operational tours to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone.

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He was also posted to Germany for a few years and has visited many other places including training in Austria and Bavaria, exercises in Cyprus, and battlefield studies in Bosnia and Sicily.

He said: "The thing I take away is the massive disparity in the way people live their lives without the things many of us take for granted, such as shelter and security.

"I also love the way the Army comes together when working overseas, that sense of togetherness and common purpose when doing something important.

"I think the Army saved me in many ways.

"I don’t know what life would have had in store for me instead, but I definitely wouldn’t have had the experiences or gained the qualifications the Army has given me."

Nearly 30 years on from that fateful day at the Army careers office, Mr Robinson is still grateful he stepped through the door.

 

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