Soldiers invade city streets for latest recruitment drive

SOLDIERS have spent a week on the streets of the city centre as part of the army’s latest recruitment drive.

Troops from the regular and Territorial armies moved a Warrior armoured fighting vehicle on to Castle Street and The Mound, demonstrating how the machinery works, and letting members of the public hold a rife.

Guardsman Gavin Dickson, from 1st Battalion, Scots Guards, who was on Castle Street, said: “I’ve been in the army for 12 years, since I was 16, and have seen and travelled a lot in that time. It sounds like a cliché, but you do really get to travel the world with the army and meet the most interesting people. I’ve done two tours of Iraq and one of Afghanistan and all of my tours have been life-changing experiences.

“When you are patrolling Basra market being followed by a crowd of kids who want to steal your pens and play with you, and then delivering food aid parcels and building wells, you get a real sense of fulfilment.”