I hail from a military family, my Father (Bryan) and Brother (Mark)  both served in the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (3 Para).  Mark fell while tending to a wounded colleague during the battle for Mount Longdon on 12th June 1982.

It wasn’t possible for me to follow in their footsteps and join the ‘family business’, I was born with a disability that severely curtails my mobility, but I have always maintained an interest in military matters, along with my relentless pride of my family’s service.

My disability pointed me to a career path in computing, which was only in the embryonic stage when I was at school.  Today, some 44 years later I am still surrounded by boxes, wires, flashing lights and gadgets.  This is why, when I saw the advert from SAMA (while in the Falklands attending the 40th Commemoration events) asking for help with their digital needs, I contacted them straight away.

The vast majority of my 30 year career, was spent with two organisations, BP Oil and the National Health Service.

I joined BP as an IT Systems Engineer, this involved implementing and supporting their IT systems, including mainframes, networks and the many PCs, printers and peripherals running on those networks.  My years there allowed me to gain extensive knowledge of systems, processes and analysis.

Following BP, I moved to the NHS, again as an IT Systems Engineer.  Over the subsequent two decades I progressed to IT Manager and then to Head of ICT Operations.  I was responsible for the day to day operational running of a team of ICT Engineers.  My managerial responsibility included oversight of ICT Support, systems security, information governance (data security), quality of service, asset management, budget management and the creation,  implementation and development of polices and procedures.

Since taking early retirement a few years ago, I have undertaken various voluntary IT roles, including maintaining the website of the Royal British Legion Branch I used to Chair and designing and maintaining the website for the band I play in today.

My aim is to bring these skills to SAMA 82 and assist in their goals, and continue to honour not just Mark, but all those who were issued the South Atlantic Medal.

Disclaimer: Trustee profile written and submitted by Mr Alan Dodsworth.