NAM.2016-11-74-1

Oral history interview with Maj Mike Robertshawe by Kirsty Parsons for the Crown and Country project, recording Army experience and opinion about the contribution of Commonwealth soldiers to the British Army. Mike retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, but when he joined the Army Reserves he was given the rank of Major. He served in the New Zealand Army for ten years in the Royal New Zealand Corps of Transport. He joined the Royal Corps of Transport in the British Army and then the Royal Logistic Corps. Mike was born in Masterton, New Zealand on 9 May 1962. His father is an Anglican priest and Mike lived in Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, in the UK from 6 months old to the age of three, when his family moved back to New Zealand. His father became a school chaplain. Mike’s aunt was in the Army Reserves and his grandfather did National Service in the New Zealand Army and fought with the British Army in World War Two in the Royal Army Chaplains department. He received the Military Cross. Mike’s mother did her nursing training in Auckland where she met Mike’s father and they married in their early twenties. Mike has lived in the UK for 26 years. Mike passed officer selection for the New Zealand Army aged 17 in Christchurch. Within a month he had passed his A Level equivalents and went to Military College in Australia in January 1980. Selection came naturally and was based on the British system - psychometric testing, leaderless and leadership tasks, fitness tests and an interview. Mike and the other New Zealand cadets arrived a couple of days late at Military College, so the Australian cadets had a head start. Received training in the Australian bush which was full of snakes, hot and dry. Graduated in 1984. Did five years as a young officer in the New Zealand Army. He went on an exchange programme for four months in 1986 between the British, Australian and New Zealand Armies called Exercise Longhook. Mike exchanged with the British Army and was based in Aldershot for three months and then in Germany for his last month. Being in Germany gave him an understanding of the scale of the British Army and influenced his decision to join. Mike applied to join the British Army under the Commonwealth Scheme. He couldn’t transfer, so he had to resign from the New Zealand Army and then apply to the British Army. His application papers got lost in the post, so he had to resend them. He was given an interview and when he passed the British Army paid for him, his wife and new baby to fly to London via Hong Kong. On arriving in England he was flown straight to Guttersloh in northern Germany. Deployed for the First Gulf War from October 1990 - April 1991. Mike was Operations Officer (rank of Captain) for a transport squadron of 140 soldiers and 60 vehicles. Provided logistical support and artillery supplies to the regiments, battalions and brigades who needed it. Weapons: SLR, Browning 9 mil pistol and they were just bringing in the SA80. Vehicles: had a new vehicle called a DROPS Vehicle which could pull a flat rack of ammunition or other supplies, land rovers, fuel tankers. Local traders were happy to see them, as they could often be persuaded to buy gold. This was his first experience of desert warfare - needed to regularly clear the vehicles of sand and often needed to tow them when they got stuck in the sand. Deployed to Kosovo in 1999. Part of Ace Rapid Reaction Corps based at NATO headquarters. As part of this role, he was based in Thessaloniki, Greece, for a couple of months, as this is where the main bulk of heavy equipment and logistical supplies were coming through. Deployed to Oman for Saif Sareea in 2001. This was a training exercise involving the British Army and the Oman Army. Deployed to Afghanistan in 2002 and was based in Oman, Pakistan, Kabul and Uzbekistan. As Mike joined the campaign there was a problem on the border between Pakistan and India over nuclear weapons, so he needed to look at northern supply routes to bring in vehicles and equipment. His idea was to use trains to take it across Europe, then eastern Europe and then down through the states of northern Afghanistan. Deployed to Iraq for three to four months in 2003. Mike was second in command of the regiment. The Commanding Officer was Col John Grinstead and the RSM was Kipper Knight. Deployed to Afghanistan again in 2013 at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul. They had 130,000 contractors working with them in addition to the combat troops. Mike left the regular army in 2014. Compares vehicles and weaponry in Iraq and Afghanistan. Suffered from Adjustment Disorder. Was hospitalised for six to seven weeks and received eight sessions of electric current therapy, as well as traditional drug treatments and talking therapy. Received support from the Army - extended his service for three months, saw doctors in Aldershot, resettlement briefings. Joined Army Reserve after meeting an old colleague in Costco who told him there were jobs going in Montgomery House in Aldershot. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel and came into the Reserves at the same rank. His wife works for the recruiting office for the Royal Logistics Corps. Mike met her at a rugby match in New Zealand where she was the only female cheerleader. They have three children who have travelled around with them - his children have been schooled in Germany and America. Army life - use leave for family holidays; sport as main recreation in New Zealand Army. Commonwealth soldiers: British Army operate in the same way as the South African, New Zealand, Australian and Canadian Armies so anyone joining from those Armies will find the same values, structure and training. British Army much bigger than the New Zealand Army, so more opportunities. Commonwealth soldiers bring different points of view. New Zealanders are practical, down to earth, sport-loving and place less importance on class. 2016 will offer challenges with recruitment as no army can offer ‘exciting’ operations or training exercises. General public in New Zealand appreciate that their army and the British Army work closely together. Commonwealth soldiers in British Army will continue, as gives those in isolated countries opportunity to live a completely different life and a chance to move around the world; bringing new perspectives and ideas.

DESERT STORM, Operation, 1991 (Gulf War 1990-1991)