Ben Godfrey talks about his time with the TA in Gibraltar If you talk to people about the Territorial Army, you’ll probably get responses ranging from mild admiration to mockery. I tested this theory out before flying to Gibraltar to film Marble Tor, a training exercise for the 37 Signal Regiment which recruits from Coventry and Warwickshire. The theory is apparently wrong; it seems the TAs are no longer considered to be boy soldiers in search of some sun.
 | | TA training in Gibraltar |
It was, with some irony then, that I found myself filming around 80 Signallers in combats in 30 degree sunshine. Gibraltar is a strange place. Firstly, your plane lands just shy of the ocean on a runway which doubles as the highway to Spain. The town is awash with cut price (though probably unreliable) digital camera shops right next door to beloved Marks and Spencer. inally, you can’t help notice the large presence of military and a species of ape known as ‘Barbary’. Sometimes, in the drinking dens at dusk, you see them at the same time. I have filmed six reports for BBC Coventry and Warwickshire TV which introduce us to some of the local recruits who are striving to improve their fighting and communications skills. They include Scott Caswell, a Warwickshire Police officer who I filmed approaching enemy targets in Gibraltar’s tunnels, and Chun-Hey Wong from Stratford who, despite his pint-size frame, impresses on the army obstacle course with the twelve foot wall. For a regiment which bolstered communications during the flooding in Carlisle last year, this exercise which involves speedboats and a village siege was a steep learning curve. Take a look and see how they did. Some I met have served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting the regular Army. I met male and female recruits - young and old – and all keen to work hard in the picturesque surroundings, and most of them enjoying it. Click the links below to watch Ben's video stories filmed with the TA in Gibraltar. --- | 
