Who We Are

Club Patron

Club Patron is General the Lord Ramsbotham GCB CBE - Director of Public Relations (Army) during the Falklands War. He rose to become Adjutant General and ADC General to the Queen. Following retirement he was appointed Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons. Elevated to a Life Peerage in 2005, General David now sits on the cross benches of the House of Lords.

Club President

Club President is Hugh Colver CBE, formerly Honorary Colonel to the Media Operations Group (V.) Hugh has advised and was spokesman for two Prime Ministers, four Secretaries of State for Defence, two Secretaries of State for Employment and the Metropolitan police Commissioner. He led the Ministry of Defence Corporate Communications organisation for five years including during Gulf War 1.

Executive Vice President

Executive Vice President Mike Peters TD has a life-long career as an award-winning journalist and in industrial, defence and military media and communications. Following service with the Royal Military Police and the Light Infantry he joined the TAPIO Poll as Training Officer and soon after as Commanding Officer. He formed the Media Operations Group (V) and became Colonel Media Operations supporting UK Land Forces and DPR(A). He served in BAOR, HQ Northern Ireland, the Ministry of Defence Press Office and deployed to the Sinai, the Falklands, and with Operation Hyperion in Beirut.

Honorary Vice Presidents

Rear Admiral Antony Rix, CB, spent over 30 years in the Royal Navy. A former Director of Corporate Communications at the MoD he was responsible to the Royal Navy Executive Board for internal and external RN communications and for relations with national and international media. During his naval career he commanded several major warships and was Captain of a Frigate squadron. As Commodore Operations he deployed twice to the Middle East to direct operations of up to 2000 people and ten major ships. Currently he is Director of Maritime Security for Salamanca Risk Management based in London’s Mayfair

Commodore Alistair Halliday was Director of Corporate Communications Royal Navy Fleet HQ 2002-3 and Director Defence Public Relations at the Ministry of Defence 2009-10. He commanded three ships during his naval career – the Type 22 frigate HMS Campbeltown, the Type 42 destroyer HMS Manchester and the mine hunter HMS Bridport. He is currently Programme Director at Raytheon.

Captain Mike Davis-Marks, OBE: A former Director of Communications, Royal Navy, Captain Davis-Marks RN is currently Director of Naval Recruiting. During his extensive sea going career he commanded the nuclear powered, hunter killer submarine HMS Turbulent and served aboard six other submarines. He completed the legendary Submarine Command Course, The Perisher, and twice navigated to the North Pole under the Polar Ice Cap. Captain Davis-Marks is a Governor of Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College and Chairman of Combined Services Winter Sports

Lieutenant General Sir Philip Trousdell KBE CB is a former Director of Public Relations (Army) and retired in 2005 as GOC Northern Ireland. He also served in Hong Kong, Commanding 48 Ghurkha Brigade, as Chief of Staff at HQ Land and as Commander of Operations for the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Major General Sir Sebastian Roberts KCVO, OBE was the last Director of PR (Army) and the first Director of Corporate Communications. General Sebastian commanded 1st Battalion The Irish Guards and became Major General Commanding the Household Division and GOC London District. He retired in 2010 and is well known for his work as a cartoonist. He is the author of Soldiering: The Military Covenant.

Major General Greg Smith CB QVRM TD DL is Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets) and is Britain’s Senior Serving Reservist. A Deputy Lieutenant for Buckinghamshire he is a leading expert in market research and runs his own consultancy. Previously he was Managing Director at Ipsos MORI.

Brigadier Nick Orr assumed the appointment of Brigadier Media & Communications for the British Army in 2012. Previously he dealt with media matters at PJHQ, Northwood covering Op Herrick in Afghanistan, the Op Ellamy commitment in Libya and the wider rise in tensions in the Middle East & North Africa arising from the Arab Spring. His media ops responsibilities also included the Permanent Joint Overseas Bases in a period that covered the Falklands War 30th anniversary and tensions in the South Atlantic. Brigadier Orr has commanded the Kings Royal Hussars, a Challenger 2 regiment, and served two operational tours in Iraq during Telic 7 and 10. He has seen operational service in Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, Iraq/Kuwait and Berlin

Lieutenant Colonel Graham Barnett TD. A Regular officer who served in Malaya, Northern Ireland, Berlin and Bahrain before becoming a squadron commander in the Trucial Oman Scouts, Colonel Barnett was the Founding Chairman of The Pen & Sword Club and is a former Commanding Officer of the TA Pool of Information Officers. He served two tours in Army PR while serving in British Army of the Rhine. His civilian experience includes public affairs appointments in UK local government and for land agents Strutt & Parker.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Patrick Hine GCB, GBE was joint commander of all British Forces during Gulf War 1. He was Director of Public Relations RAF in 1975. A member of the RAF’s Black Arrows aerobatic display team he also flew the Gloster Meteor and the Hawker Hunter. For eight years he was Chief Military adviser to British Aerospace. Sir Patrick was until recently President of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews in Scotland.

Air Marshal Sir David Walker KCVO OBE is a former Director of Corporate Communications (RAF) and is now Master of the Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign. In 2005 he was an Extra Equerry to the Queen. A liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Bakers, Sir David also served as Air Officer Commanding Training Group and as the Chief Executive Training Group Defence Agency.

Air Commodore Richard (Harry) Atkinson, CBE, ADC has been Director PR/Media & Communications for the Royal Air Force since 2011. Previously he was ADC to The Queen, Air Officer for Scotland and Station Commander at RAF Leuchars, a base for Typhoon and Tornado fighter squadrons. As head of the RAF in Scotland he was responsible for 5000 personnel and 2700 cadets and for delivering the highest level of national readiness and security response to any airborne threat. He also acted as Director of PR in Scotland. Air Commodore Atkinson was NATO Director of Air Operations during Op Herrick in 2007/8 and Deputy Director Strategic Planning at the MoD in 2005/7. He commanded No. 25 (Fighter) Squadron in 2003/5.

Neville Taylor CB is a former Director General of the Central Office of Information and was Head of the Government Information Service. He twice served as the Chief of Public Relations at The Ministry of Defence notably being called forward early in 1982, at the insistence of No, 10 Downing Street, to lead the Ministry‘s communications during the Falklands War

Mark Laity, NATO Meritorious Service Medal, has been involved with media, information and latterly strategic communications for three decades, both as a journalist, mostly with the BBC where he defence correspondent, and then as a spokesman and senior manager for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. He is currently Chief Strategic Communications (StratCom) at Strategic Headquarters Allied Powers Europe.