The Old Paratrooper Podcast

Despite a turbulent upbringing, Andrew Williams enlisted in the Parachute Regiment at just 16. Deployed to the deadly frontlines of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2006, he confronted the brutal realities of warfare, engaging in some of the most intense combat witnessed by the British Army since the Korean War. After his military service, Andrew transitioned into domestic counter-intelligence and spent over a decade as a high-risk security consultant, navigating some of the world’s most dangerous and unpredictable environments. These harrowing experiences forced him to face not only the physical dangers around him but also the deep, often unseen, psychological scars left by war.Check out his new book.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beyond-Drop-Zone-Paratroopers-Story-ebook/dp/B0CWCKBNRYBeyond The Drop Zone, takes you on a gripping journey from patrolling the streets of Northern Ireland to war-torn Iraq, coming face to face with ISIS, and engaging in fierce battles in Afghanistan with 3 PARA.This raw and unflinching memoir reveals the psychological toll of combat, Andrew’s struggles with mental health, and his fight against a life-threatening illness. It is a powerful account of overcoming immense adversity, finding a path to healing, and discovering the strength of perseverance.This is his story, told in his own words. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Paratrooper left the military and headed straight for the music industry, working with Oasis ,Duran Duran, Spandau ballet, George Harrison and the sex pistols to name a few. Iain shares some memorable and hilarious stories of his time on the road with some of worlds rock and roll royalty . After leaving the music industry behind Iain decided to try his hand at being a firefighter and also shares some harrowing tales of incidents he attended. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By the time Tom was 7 years old, he knew he wanted to be a Paratrooper. Joining the cadets aged 13, and enlisting in the British Army aged 16, Tom began his career with Junior Para followed by P Company. 2 Northern Ireland tours & 5 Years in 1 Para later, and Tom was on the hunt for his next challenge, completing Pathfinder's Selection and deploying to Kosovo, Iraq & Afghanistan. Tom joined the Red Devils Parachute Display team and has amassed over 4500 jumps to date, and is now a member of The Jump Dogs display team. Keen to share his experience with young people & civilians, Tom is the founder of First In Events, works as an SSI for the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) and has a Youtube Channel ‪ @PreparedPathfinder‬

After decades living in Australia, a World War II Special Air Service (SAS) and Battle of Britain veteran was escorted home to England last month by an Australian Army soldier from 1st Commando Regiment to join the Chelsea Pensioners, a program run by the illustrious Chelsea Hospital for British Army veterans.Nicknamed “Cat” Morris for his ability to cheat death, Mr John Morris enlisted when he was 16, joining an anti-aircraft regiment as a gun layer to defend British cities against Nazi bombers.When his regiment deployed to North Africa, Mr Morris first escaped death aboard a landing craft after his ship was torpedoed.He contracted Hepatitis-A from drinking contaminated water in Algeria, an illness that led him to the SAS Raiding Support Group (RSR) when officers asked for volunteers at his hospital.The newly-formed special forces unit operated behind enemy lines across Yugoslavia and Greece, providing heavy-weapon support and training to local militias to overthrow Nazi occupation, as Allied forces advanced into Europe.

Ex-paratrooper Mike Chadwick revolutionised the British Armed Forces' approach to training and delivered unprecedented pass rates for the Parachute Regiment's Pegasus-Company selection course. He was awarded the Bredin Trophy and a GOC commendation announced alongside the Queen's Birthday Honours list. More recently, Mike has been coaching the UK Special Forces, the global Tactical Athlete community and the elite sporting world.

Born in Farnham, Surrey, UK. Following a divorce from his birth father, his mother Hazel married his step-father, who adopted him and gave him the name Horsfall. A broken family life adversely affected his education, so he left school in 1972 at the age of fifteen and joined the army as a boy soldier.Despite a long period of isolation and bullying by his peers, he became a full member of the Parachute Regiment in 1974 and served three tours of Northern Ireland. In 1978 he volunteered for SAS selection and passed on his second attempt in March 1979. He went on to qualify as a Paramedic and Sniper.He was a member of the SAS counter terrorist team that assaulted the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980, helping to rescue the nineteen hostages who had been held for six days.Robin has had an extraordinary life and has been speaking about it at events both small and large for over 10 years.

Fathers 4 Justice is a campaign group fighting for the rights of fathers in the UK. It was founded in 2001 by Matt O’Connor with the aim to gain support for changes in legislation concerning the rights of fathers to see their kids.The group mainly uses stunts, like climbing public buildings and monuments, often wearing fancy dress or costumes to gain media attention.

Born into a military family, Mick attended 14 schools over his childhood. His dream of being a professional footballer came to an end after an unsuccessful trial with Lincoln City and he visited the careers office aged 16 to join the 1975 junior paras course. An ankle injury left him unable to perform any jumps, and Mick briefly left the army before rejoining 29 Commando. Passing SAS Selection on the second attempt, Mick went on to serve 14 years in B Squadron, and received his QCB for efforts in Northern Ireland. Mick was deployed to the UAE for the first Gulf War, and then posted to Bosnia, where he was taken prisoner. After leaving the regiment, Mick moved into corporate security, where he would carve out a 22 year career in locations like Kazakhstan and Nigeria. Mick and his daughter now run Hawkes And Co, and deliver security training for a number of sectors, including agriculture and rural crime prevention.

Trevor Coult is a veteran of the Armed Forces who was awarded one of the highest gallantry awards by HM Queen Elizabeth II in 2006. He is a veteran campaigner and has raised over £250k for veterans’ causes. In 2021, his petition received a Royal Assent from the Queen.Take a look at one of his books ...well worth a read.Exploitation https://amzn.eu/d/05XmHHD4

Danny Rampling's name is synonymous with dance music, from pioneering and been an integral part of dance culture, to a successful radio and producing career to constant DJ appearances at top nights around the globe, Danny Rampling is not a name we can easily forget.A lesser known fact about Danny is he completed P company and served for 3 years with the 10th Battalion the Parachute regiment.Danny covers his career from start to finish and what a career it has been.....so far !!

Cliff Parisi is an English actor, known for his roles as Minty Peterson in the BBC soap opera EastEnders and Fred Buckle in the BBC period drama Call the Midwife. He chats in depth about his upbringing and the route that led him into acting .In 2019, he participated in the nineteenth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

Chris Thrall is a former Royal Marines Commando and author of the bestselling memoir Eating Smoke, his experience of crystal meth addiction while working for the Hong Kong triads. A qualified pilot and skydiver, Chris has backpacked throughout all seven continents, worked with street children in Mozambique, driven aid workers from Norway to India and back by coach, and scuba dived with leopard seals in Antarctica. In 2018, solo and unsupported, he ran 999 miles the length of Britain to raise awareness of veterans suicide. He lives in Plymouth, England, and plans to continue adventuring, charity work and writing.He's currently preparing to row the Atlantic for charity

Facing financial ruin, Christian Lewis, a former paratrooper, set out on a six-year, 11,000-mile trek around our entire coastline. It changed his life in more ways than he could possibly imagine.

Finding a love of flying early in life, Mandy fought hard to achieve her ambition to be a Royal Air Force pilot. She was only the second woman to fly the Tornado GR4 on the front line, amassing over thirty years experience within aviation, completing three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq during that time

Former REME soldier Simon Brown takes through the events that unfolded while on operations in Iraq. He talks us through the harrowing experience of being shot in the face by a sniper, recovery and adjusting to life changing injuries. A truly remarkable man who in the face of adversity after a life changing event has gone on to achieve some amazing things

Ex Parachute regiment soldier Terry Byrne chats to the old paratrooper podcast about the fateful day in southern Afghanistan when he stood on a IED losing a leg from the knee and part of one his hands, changing his life forever. Showing an elite mindset Terry not only recovered ,he did so extremely quickly, amazing doctors and specialists alike. He went on to hold multiple world records in cycling , took part in the adaptive gram slam ,sadly getting badly injured on Everest . His next challenge is the tour divide, a 2,745 mile self supported mountain bike race from Banff in Canada to the Mexican border. Join this episode of the old paratrooper podcast and learn all about Terry and his super human feats of endurance.

Liz McConaghy aka Chinook crew chick chats to The old paratrooper podcast about her service in the RAF as a Chinook crew member and being deployed on no less than 10 op Herrick tours in Afghanistan. Liz talks openly about her struggles with mental health brought on by seeing the horrors from inside a war zone.

Ex 3 Para soldier turner adventurer explorer and author chats to the old paratrooper podcast about his epic walk around world that so far has taken 25 years and counting. Being one of only 2 humans to cross the bearing strait , dodging drug cartels in south america, to being locked up in a Russian prison for 57 days...the appropriately named Goliath expedition has been nothing short of epic for Karl Bushby. He set 2 rules at the start ...no forms of transport to be used to propel him forward and he's not allowed to set foot back home in Hull until he walks there. He now faces his next task of getting out of Kazakhstan, across the Caspian sea to continue his journey and finally get home......a truly remarkable story of a man with an elite mindset and on a mission.

Former Premiership and England footballer Neil "Razor" Rudduck talks to The Old Paratrooper Podcast about growing up , playing for some of the biggest clubs in the UK , playing for England and shares some hilarious stories. He also chats openly about his struggles with alcohol , his weight ,having a pacemaker fitted and a gastric band

Episode #10: Ex US Marine and private security consultant Jacob Arnett chats with The Old Paratrooper Podcast about The US marines, boot camp , an eventful and often harrowing operational tour of Iraq and his career as a private security consultant in Iraq and Afghanistan before setting up his own veteran run company in Las Vegas.

PART 1: Former Special forces support group and Paratrooper Nick Dunn chats to the Old Paratrooper Podcast about what led him to join the military, his operational tours and the Anti -Piracy work he decided to move into after leaving the Army. His journey ended up with him being held prisoner unlawfully in an India along with several other colleges for 5 years in hellish conditions. The media called them "The Chennai 6". Nick tells his version of events

Episode 8: Former Royal Marine and SBS operator Pasha Munro chats to the Old Paratrooper Podcast. He covers growing up and nearly being kidnapped by his father . Joining the Royal Marine Commandos , the infamous and arduous mountain leader course and selection for the Special Boat Service.

Former Para and SAS Sgt Maj Mark Billy Billingham chats to the old Paratrooper Podcast. Billy chats about growing up in Walsall , coming from a poor background , to joining the Parachute Regiment , SAS selection , work after leaving the forces and his passion for charity work

Episode 6 Johnny Nelson chats about growing up around the Sheffield area, getting into boxing , winning a world title , having a go at the infamous Parachute regiment selection process known as P company ,working as a presenter after retiring from boxing for Sky and his Charity work.

Episode 5-The Old Paratrooper Podcast chats with retired Major-general Chip Chapman about his 33 year military career from seeing as a young lieutenant with 2 para in the Falklands war , commanding the 2nd battalion the Parachute Regiment, various postings over the years before retiring as Major General.

78 year old amateur boxing champion and rising social media sensation Frank Gilfeather of Franks noble art chats with The Old Paratrooper Podcast about life growing up after the 2nd world war in Scotland , his colourful boxing career and how hes inspiring people of all ages to get active proving that age really is just a number.

TheOldParatrooper podcast chats with former pro boxer and deadmans shoes actor Gary stretch about fighter Chris Eubank and how he moved into acting. Gary chats about how he landed the co Starring role in the Shane Meadows iconic cult classic Deadmans shoes.

Ex 3 Para and Falklands veteran Sgt Mick talks to TheOldParatrooper Podcast TOPP about his 28 year military career, the Falklands conflict and the harrowing first hand account of the Battle for Mt Longdon in the Falkland Islands. Being only 17 years old and fresh out of the training dept Mick talks about the harsh realities of war, taking part in some of the most ferocious fighting since World War 2.

Former WBA heavyweight champion Lucas Big Daddy Browne chats to TheOldParatrooper Podcast about growing up in Australia in the 80's and 90's, what got him into combat sports, the highs and lows of his career , being shunned by the Australian media and navigating training over the age of 40.