Gloucestershire Brochure Final(7) - Flipbook - Page 8
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
RIFLEMEN
IT’S A POINT OF PRIDE TO SAY
I AM A RIFLEMAN
Rifleman Adam Thomson
Major Olly Bevan
Cadet Serjeant Isabella Rhodes
Private Francis George Miles VC
Sharpshooter, 1 RIFLES
6 RIFLES
Cadet, Gloucestershire ACF
Hometown: Gloucester
Forest of Dean
Hometown: Cheltenham
Soldier, 1/5 Battalion, The
Gloucestershire Regiment, WWI
Rifleman Adam Thomson joined the Army
in March 2019. A RIFLES battalion was
close to his home town of Gloucester and
this influenced his decision to join. Having
passed out of training at Catterick he
moved to his chosen battalion, 1 RIFLES
near Chepstow.
Major Olly Bevan lives in the Forest of
Dean having originally grown up near
Gloucester where he attended King’s
School. He served in the Regular army for
seven years, twice serving in Afghanistan.
On becoming a Reservist he joined A
Company 6 RIFLES at Gloucester. Working
in the civil field of training support, Olly
quickly progressed within the Reserves
and has now completed tours at both
Birmingham University Officers Training
Corps and 6 RIFLES as Company
Commander before recently moving to
the HQ of the Allied Command Europe
Rapid Reaction Corps at Imjin Barracks,
Gloucester.
Cadet Serjeant Isabella Rhodes is a
long-standing member of the ACF and
has become an accomplished and highly
successful instructor. Her personal
achievements with the Army Proficiency
Certificate and Duke of Edinburgh’s
Award Scheme are exceptional.
Isabella’s sustained volunteering and
fund-raising activity benefit those with
physical and learning difficulties, through
Gloucestershire’s National Star College,
as well as the Royal British Legion and
villagers in Nepal. Isabella’s loyal and
highly effective contribution led to
her selection as Her Majesty’s LordLieutenant’s Cadet for Gloucestershire.
Since joining he has deployed to the
Falkland Islands on OP FIRIC. When in
barracks he is fortunate to be able to get
home at weekends and spend time with
his children. Outside of his family, Adam
enjoys training in martial arts and hiking.
Hometown: Clearwell
Private Francis George Miles worked
at the Princess Royal Colliery before
volunteering for service on the outbreak
of World War I in 1914. With service in
France, Salonika and Italy he was briefly
detached for tunnelling duty and was the
sole survivor from a mine explosion. He
won the Victoria Cross at Bois L’Eveque
in 1918, where, using his initiative, he
rushed two enemy machine guns enabling
his company, without delay, to follow up
capturing 16 guns and 51 prisoners. He
returned to Clearwell to live and work and
joined up again in World War II, serving
with the Pioneer Corps.
