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Major who grew up yards from
Imjin Barracks reports for duty
I hope I can give
back as much as
they gave me.
Major Martyn Fulford stands outside
the grey-brick building in a corner of
Imjin Barracks and recalls coming to
the Army cadets as a teenager.
The 33-year-old British infantry
officer serves with HQ Allied Rapid
Reaction Corps and, incredibly, is
posted just 250 metres from his
childhood home.
“I spent most of my career trying to
escape from home, but it’s nice to
come back,” he admits.
“I was drawn (to Gloucester) by the
NATO job and the multinational
element of it. But then not long after
getting the job we had our second
30
AUTUMN 2019 the imjin
child, and it was just perfect as both
our families are from the area.”
He first came to the barracks as a
13-year-old, attending cadets with a
friend.
“I just said ‘what can I do?’. They had
always supported me, so I owed them
something back.
Now he gets involved whenever work
and family commitments allow.
“They gave us camouflaged clothes
and cam cream and we snuck up on
some (Army Reserves) guys on Chosen
Hill. And as a thirteen-year-old that’s
you sold for the next however many
years. It was just really good fun. “I think I bring a different perspective
from the experiences that I’ve gained
over the last twenty years. I hope they
see the enjoyment I get out of It.
“I bumped into one of my old
instructors in Tesco in Gloucester. So
I came down one evening. I’d left the
cadets at 16 and coming back at 33 as
a major was a big jump! And what advice would he give to his
13-year-old self?
“I hope I can give back as much as
they gave me.”
“‘Keep going. It pays off, and it pays
off fast’.”
@HQARRC
Allied Rapid Reaction Corps