Lee Chapman 🇬🇧

🇬🇧 Regional Director for the West Midlands at Advance UK 🇬🇧 Veteran 🇬🇧

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

The view for thousands of hours.
For many of us who served in Afghanistan, this was it.

Not firefights. Not explosions. Not the moments that make the documentaries.

Just endless hours scanning the horizon.
Watching. Waiting. Staying alert.
The threat wasn't always visible, but it was always there.

Day after day, month after month, we sat behind weapons like this, looking across miles of dust and desert, making sure our mates got home safely.

It's hard to explain to those who weren't there.

How something so empty could demand so much concentration.

How a horizon can stay with you long after you've left it behind.

This was the office view for a generation of servicemen and women.

Those who served will understand.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

4 June 1940.

At one of Britain's darkest moments, with much of Europe already fallen and the British Army evacuated from Dunkirk, Winston Churchill stood in the House of Commons and delivered words that would echo through history.

"We shall fight on the beaches..."

It wasn't just a speech.

It was a message to a nation under threat that surrender was not an option.

Britain stood alone. The odds were stacked against us. Many believed defeat was inevitable.

But courage isn't about knowing you'll win.

It's about refusing to give up when everything says you should.

That generation endured bombing raids, rationing, loss, uncertainty and sacrifice on a scale most of us can barely imagine today.

Whatever our politics, whatever our differences, we owe an enormous debt to those who stood firm when freedom itself was on the line.

Their resilience helped shape the Britain we know today.

We remember them. 🇬🇧

#WinstonChurchill

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

This photo was taken at the start of what should have been a simple recovery.

The Viking got stuck.

Not "call it in and be home for tea" stuck.

Not "give it a tug with another wagon" stuck.

This thing was sinking into the mud like it had found oil.

First, we tried another Viking.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another.
Then another.

Five Vikings later... still stuck.

So we stripped all the armour off.
Still stuck.

Emptied the wagon.
Still stuck.

Dug trenches to divert the water.
Still stuck.

Called in a Foden recovery vehicle.
Still stuck.

At this point morale was disappearing almost as fast as the Viking.

Eventually we had to go and fetch a Leopard 2 tank.

Two days, snapped chains, incoming fire, very little sleep and a lot of colourful military language later... we finally won our little battle and got the wagon out.

The best part?

Years later I walked into Bordon (REME training school) and found photos of this recovery on the training walls.

Proof that sometimes the best military lessons aren't about tactics or strategy...

They're about a group of stubborn soldiers refusing to admit defeat to a muddy hole.

🇬🇧😂 Mud: 1
Viking: 2 (after extra time)

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

😢

The photo of injustice.
The photo of 2 Tier policing.

The photo taken whilst the murderer watched his victim handcuffed, after savagely stabbing him 5 times.

In the military, we would always treat the enemies wounds before anything else. This should be the same standard for all, guilty or not at the time.

Preservation of life is the priority at all costs, and equality under the law should apply to everyone.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

Good question.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

They fought under this flag.
They bled for it.
Many never came home because of it.

Whatever our differences today, we should never forget the sacrifice made by those who stood for Britain when it mattered most.

We remember them. Always.

🇬🇧🌺 #LestWeForget #BritishArmy #Remembrance

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

😢

The photo of injustice.
The photo of 2 Tier policing.

The photo taken whilst the murderer watched his victim handcuffed, after savagely stabbing him 5 times.

In the military, we would always treat the enemies wounds before anything else. This should be the same standard for all, guilty or not at the time.

Preservation of life is the priority at all costs, and equality under the law should apply to everyone.

[Tommy Robinson 🇬🇧 @TRobinsonNewEra]

Murderers of the state.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

😢

The photo of injustice.
The photo of 2 Tier policing.

The photo taken whilst the murderer watched his victim handcuffed, after savagely stabbing him 5 times.

In the military, we would always treat the enemies wounds before anything else. This should be the same standard for all, guilty or not at the time.

Preservation of life is the priority at all costs, and equality under the law should apply to everyone.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

One call that always made your stomach drop over the net:

“Mine strike, mine strike, mine strike…”

…then silence.

As the operator/commander of the recovery Viking, you knew straight away your day had just changed.

This one had hit a mine right at the top of a hill.

The lads from 3 PARA moved out first, sweeping the area with metal detectors and marking every possible contact with cones.

And there we were… having to drive straight through those cones to position ourselves for the recovery.

Not exactly reassuring.

Once we got close enough to dismount and start assessing the job, everything changed again.

A few minutes later we started taking small arms fire and airburst RPGs from lower down the hill.

Not ideal when you’re already stood next to a vehicle that’s just had an argument with a mine.

Fortunately for them, the people firing hadn’t realised there was an FSG section positioned close to their location.

Safe to say… they got some very bad news very quickly while we took cover and waited for the all clear.

Once it settled down, it was straight back to work recovering the wagon.

Thankfully, no serious injuries.

What always stuck with me was the thought that many of these mines had been sitting there for decades, left behind from the Soviet conflict, waiting for the next unlucky vehicle.

Afghanistan had a way of reminding you that war doesn’t really end. Sometimes it just waits.

#Afghanistan #OpHerrick #Veterans

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

RIP
True Hero.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

@RobertClark87 Lol! It arrived on the back of a DROPs!

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

Afghanistan had a way of quickly resetting your expectations.

After all the training… and all the battlefield scenarios… I never once thought I’d end up living in a shell scrape in the middle of the Afghan desert.

Then came supporting 3 PARA as part of the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group along side the Queens Royal Lancers.

For three months we were basically the least luxurious taxi service… moving troops, providing overwatch, and being there if firepower was needed.

Then one day we pulled up somewhere between Helmand and Kandahar and got told:

“You’re digging in.”

I genuinely thought someone was taking the mick... we were used to throwing a roll mat out next to the wagon with our armoured poncho.

Next thing, a digger turns up, cuts out rows of shell scrapes, and we’re left to finish them off by hand before calling them home for the next week.

At the time it felt surreal.

Sleeping in a hole. Eating in a hole.
Trying to stay vaguely presentable while living in a hole... luckily though we did have a wagon as well to make it easier.

Then the incoming started.... suddenly those shell scrapes made perfect sense.

The moment that warning shout went up, everyone moved... fast.

I still remember sitting shoulder to shoulder with a mate from my home town serving with 3 PARA, the call came in and he jumped into his shell scrape, whilst I jumped into the back of my Viking and put the next episode of shameless on.

Funny what becomes normal on operations.

Things that would sound absolutely ridiculous in civilian life somehow just become another Tuesday in Afghanistan.

Looking back now, it’s one of those memories that makes you laugh… while also reminding you just how real it all was.

#Afghanistan #Veterans

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

They stood in the trenches so we could stand in freedom.

Today, we remember the courage, sacrifice, and unimaginable cost carried by generations of British troops.

For every white stone.
For every family left behind.
For every name we must never forget.

Lest we forget. 🇬🇧🌺

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

Rest easy, Alec Penstone. 🇬🇧

At 101 years old, he leaves behind a legacy of courage, sacrifice and honesty.

His words hit hard because they came from a man who lived what most of us can only read about.

“I can see in my mind’s eye the rows and rows of white stones of all the hundreds of my friends and everybody else that gave their lives for what? The country of today. No, I’m sorry, the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result that it is now.”

We should be forever thankful for Alec and his generation.

They gave everything so we could live free.
And if we are honest, perhaps we owe them an apology for the state of the country he has just left behind.

The greatest way to honour men like Alec is not just to remember their sacrifice… but to build a Britain worthy of it.

Lest we forget. ❤️🇬🇧

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

Afghanistan 🇦🇫

Driving and commanding Viking all-terrain vehicles with the Royal Marines Armoured Support Group.

Long days. Relentless heat. Endless dust.

A full troop moving across open desert, throwing up huge dust clouds that often left the vehicle behind with little to no visibility.

There were plenty of moments where all you could do was trust your training, trust your crew, and keep moving.

Out there, visibility could disappear in seconds.
You learned to read the ground, trust instinct, and rely completely on the men around you.

The Viking was without doubt the best military vehicle I ever worked with on ops. I had the pleasure of commanding the Repair & Recovery vehicle (RRV). Fitted with a crane and a winch in the back.

Versatile. Reliable. Built to go almost anywhere.

But like most things in military life, it was never really about the kit.

It was about the people inside it.

Those long days in the Afghan dust taught lessons that stay with you for life.

Sometimes when I look back, it’s not the chaos I remember most.

It’s the absolute trust, in your training, your vehicle, and the men beside you.

#Afghanistan #OpHerrick

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

Afghanistan. 2008.

Some of the most dangerous roads in the world.

Every culvert watched.
Every roadside pile questioned.
Every mile carried risk.

And then you’d see this.
Buses stacked impossibly high.
Cars carrying entire lives.

People adapting in ways most of us could barely imagine.

To us, it looked chaos. To them, it was normal.

While we patrolled through a warzone, millions of ordinary Afghans were simply trying to live, adapt and survive.

A different world. A different reality.

Some memories never leave you.

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

🇬🇧 THE REAL PRICE OF OUR PEACE, AND WHY WE MUST NOT LET IT SLIP AWAY 🇬🇧

We enjoy calm streets, family days out, and the comfort of normal life…
But only because thousands of British soldiers stood between us and danger in the Middle East.

They fought so terror wouldn’t reach our shores.
They endured heat, violence and fear so our children could grow up safe.
They held the line so we could walk freely.

Some never came home.
Some came home carrying scars nobody can see.

Their sacrifice built the safety we’ve enjoyed for years… but that safety is now being chipped away.

Not through their failure, but through ours.
Through weakness in leadership.
Through turning a blind eye.
Through forgetting what was fought for, and who paid the price.

If we forget their sacrifice, we risk losing the very peace they bled to give us.

So today, let’s honour them the right way:
By remembering, by speaking up, and by defending the values they fought to protect.

We owe them that much.
We will remember them. 🇬🇧🕊️

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

Remembering Marine Dale Gostick.

In May, 18 years ago, we lost Royal Marine Dale Gostick in Afghanistan.

I had the privilege of serving alongside Dale on Herrick 7/8, as part of the Viking Armoured Support Group. He started the tour with us in 1 Troop before later moving across to 3 Troop. At the time, he was supporting 2 PARA while we were carrying out a similar role in support of 3 PARA.

Dale was one of those lads everyone remembers.
A genuinely decent bloke, always calm, always professional, and always up for a bit of banter.
I can still remember hearing him being called “Master General of the Universe”, a nickname that always made me chuckle and summed up his humour perfectly.

Like so many who served in Helmand, Dale was doing an incredibly dangerous job in one of the most hostile places imaginable. In May 2008, while returning from operations near Sangin, the Viking he was driving struck a suspected mine. He was just 22 years old.

Eighteen years may have passed, but for those who served, these dates are never just dates. They bring back memories of the people, the moments, and the sacrifices that stay with us forever.

We will always remember Dale.

A good man. A Royal Marine. A brother in arms.

Lest we forget. 🇬🇧

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

@paulSmith3tut You're*

[Lee Chapman 🇬🇧 @Lee_MJ_Chapman]

If the ghost of Churchill could see Britain today, he’d be asking one question…

What on earth has happened to the country I fought to defend?

Broken promises.
Rising costs.
Weak leadership.
And a Government increasingly disconnected from the people it was elected to serve.

One can only imagine his frustration watching those in power ignore the voices of ordinary Britons.

The question he’d surely be asking is:

How much longer can this continue?
And when will the British people finally get their say?

Call a General Election.

Britain deserves strength.
Britain deserves accountability.
Britain deserves better.