Blog - The Parachute Regimental Association

My Personal Para site

A hub for “The Airborne Brotherhood”

I served with Royal Green Jackets (2 RGJ) then did “P” Coy end of 1969, posted to 2 Para (“D” Coy) … part of 16th Parachute Brigade did the first two tours in Northern Ireland, left the Army and got married then joined 10 Para, 5 Coy 1982 ((HSF) founder member)) stayed until 5 Coy was disbanded 1993 Read more …

My all arms “P” Company course …
14th October 1969 – 6th November 1969
Number 20 (me) … 4 passed out of 23 that started the course.

Pte Smart

Passed # 10 – 15 – 18 – 20

Two Royal Fusiliers
One Royal Green Jacket (Me David Smart)
Cant remember the other one

Many, many years later …

PRA Regions

Anglia Region … Paul Bryant

London Region … Terry Wood (Woody)

Midlands Region …Chris Brooksbank

North East Region … John Wilson (JJ)

North West Region … Mike Farrington

South East Region … Kev Eaton

South Region … Vic Thorn

South West Region … Tony Ellis

Yorkshire Region … Chris Jackson

Wales Region … David Singletary

Scotland and Northern Ireland Region … Brian Black

South East Region PRA

The role of a regional secretary is to:
i) Support and advice local branches.
ii) Co-ordinate Regional activities.

The 7 branches I have responsibility for are:

East Kent
Eastbourne
Eltham/Chislehurst
Hastings
Maidstone
Medway/Gravesend
Dover Para’s

The hub for “The South East PRA facebook group“

Ex-SBS Operator: “I’ve just been PNG’d. I don’t even know why.” H-Hour #289 Dean Stott MBE 3 July 2026
Dean Stott MBE returns to H‑Hour for a long‑form sit‑rep on life after the Special Boat Service. We dig into evacuations in Israel and beyond, the “ground truth” versus the media monster, the reality of being PNG’d by MOD, and why outdated secrecy policies are still shaping the lives of ex‑SF operators. Dean talks surfing […]
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“We are literally flying the emergency room to street level” Air Ambulance pilot Adele Dobler 25 June 2026
What happens when your “office” is a helicopter and your job is to bring an emergency room to the streets of London in under seven minutes? In this episode I sit down with Adele Dobler, a helicopter air ambulance pilot with London’s Air Ambulance, to unpack what it really takes to fly lifesaving missions over […]
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Commando Lee Spencer – “Training, instinct, and mindset kept me alive.” 16 June 2026
Join the H-Hour community at https://patreon.com/hkpodcasts ***** In this powerful follow-up conversation, Frank returns to share the extraordinary story of how he survived a life-threatening accident on the M3, lost his leg, and fought his way back from the edge of death. He speaks candidly about the split-second decisions, the long road through recovery, and the […]
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“My time was up. My luck was up.” Coldstream Guard Jacob Lockwood (Lockwood Smocks) 23 May 2026
Join the H-Hour community at https://patreon.com/hkpodcasts ***** For H-Hour #286, I welcome Jacob Lockwood, Coldstream Guards and founder of Lockwood Smocks, for a wide-ranging conversation on military life, entrepreneurship, and the challenge of building something real in an increasingly fake-feeling world. We talk about how his time sat in cold, wet OPs drove him to […]
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