Geoffrey's Site

Geoffrey’s Site

A Brief Outline of my Family and Interests

Site last updated Oct 2008

I am a retired army officer now living in Shropshire England with my wife Jean. We have two daughters who live close by and two grandchildren of which more later. My main hobbies are painting in various media and Model railway construction.

I joined the army as a boy at the age of 15 having been educated at Marling School Stroud in Gloucestershire. I started at the Army Apprentice College Arborfield in August of 1949 and trained as an armourer moving out to the regular army in June 1952. While serving at Denbury Camp Newton Abbot in 1953 I met Jean and we married in January 1954. I served in the Far East and Aden as well as in England and took my training further to become an Artificer Weapons, finally reaching warrant rank in 1968. In 1974 I was commissioned into Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and retired in 1989 with the rank of major having served for almost 40 years.

Jean worked as a canteen assistant in NAAFI for some years until we married and has had some further employment over the years, travelling with me to some of my overseas appointments. She now holds the volunteer post of Deputy manager in the Oxfam shop in Wellington Telford.

My daughters are Jennifer and Jacqueline born in 1956 and 1960. Jennifer has learning difficulties but lives independently in her own flat. Jacky is married to Thomas (Charlie) McCusker and has two children, Thomas and Marsha