I was about to start a 24-hour exercise and I was happy! Ten hours later I was soaked, extremely hungry and had been disciplined by my sergeant for dropping my rifle in a puddle. I remember to this day how low I felt. No day since has ever been that bad.
Why did I join the army in the first place? I'm not sure. I played a lot of rugby and after a game a man introduced himself as the university army liaison officer. The next thing I knew I was at a nasty barracks in Royston being assessed by an overweight major with an attitude problem.
I seemed to get through the tests and in no time there was a letter from the MOD asking me to join. My father beamed. My mother burst into tears.
I was summoned to start at Sandhurst. For those who have never experienced army barracks, Sandhurst was overwhelming. I dumped my kit and went in search of other lambs to the slaughter. I met a guy called Tim Moody, who was as scared as I was and we huddled in his room sharing a cigarette - I didn't smoke but I needed it! The next thing I remember was a booming voice yelling, "My name is Colour Sergeant KE Rowlands, 1st Battalion, the Welsh Guards, and, boy, you will never forget me!". I haven't.
My problem was that my Colour Sergeant didn't like having another Welsh person in the platoon. Our hate/hate relationship carried on for six months and on that fateful day on Salisbury Plain, he made me run an extra five miles for being Welsh and 'posh'.
Actually, Colour Sergeant Rowlands turned out to be good for me. I found aspects of military life very difficult and his constant shouting kept me going. One day, in a more relaxed moment, he stripped off to show me his back, which had literally melted. He had seen action in the Falklands and was caught on Sir Galahad when it was attacked by the Argentinians.
He said to me that whatever befalls me in my life, very little is ever a matter of life or death.
When I left the army and entered the world of marketing, his words stayed with me. There are days when things go wrong and it seems to be the end of the world, but Colour Sergeant Rowlands' words ring in my ear and this photo reminds me how I felt on that horrible autumn day.
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