Des Astor Biography
Des Astor realised he wanted to join the British Army whilst watching the Bloody Sunday riots on television in 1972. Commissioned into the 2nd Battalion the Loamshire Regiment in 1975, he has since served in trouble spots across the globe, ranging from Basra to Blackpool. As OC HQ Company of the Loamshires, Des oversaw the merger with the Royal Blankshire Regiment and went on to serve as second in command of the newly formed 4th Battalion, the Amalgamees (Blankshire and Loamshire) (V) before their conversion to a TA RLC catering regiment in 1996. After a successful tour as SO2 G4 (Pest Control) in HQ MND (SE) at Basra International Airport, Des is now at the MoD, as executive officer for a project seeking to implement operational rat-catching protocols across all three services.
Educated at Badger’s Heath College near Oswestry and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (where he passed out 247th out of 251 in the Order of Merit), Des now lives on the border between Hampshire and Wiltshire with his wife Fenella, and their seven Springer Spaniels. They have two grown-up children. In what little spare time he has, Des enjoys bricklaying and canasta.
