Heroes to the corps
The Signals are the Army’s unsung heroes. They are the first in before the main force arrive to make preparations and they are the last out.
He was Scotland’s top soldier and Her Majesty’s Governor of Edinburgh Castle but Major-General David McDowall MBE’s proudest achievement is being a Signaller. First on the ground in warzones across the globe and last out – the brave men and women of the Royal Corps of Signals are the unsung heroes of the British Army. Whether fighting to set up radio systems under fire, enabling communications for humanitarian missions or providing 4G networks for multinational forces – the Royal Signals are the military’s “vital link”.
David, 66, from Stranraer, who retired after 36 years as a Signaller, has contributed to a new book, Roger So Far, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Corps.
Being first into warzones means you encounter horrific scenes and see at first hand mankind’s ability for wanton destruction. I saw this in the Balkans when I served with the UN and Nato.
People often imagine Signallers are not proper soldiers but that’s what they are first and foremost.
They are always the first in the thick of it, putting themselves at risk of unexploded missiles or enemy fire before the main forces move in. You make a hole in the ground to build your communications, then you defend those communications – moving every 12 to 24 hours if you are on the frontline.
You no longer have armies lining up and facing each other. Wars are won in other ways and communication has a huge part to play. From carrier pigeons used during World War II to the complexities of cyber warfare, the Signals are always adapting and evolving.
Within the modern-day electronic battlefield, with its increasingly sophisticated and often hidden enemy, Royal Signals soldiers and officers are responsible for ensuring the British Army’s sophisticated weaponry and command and control systems are protected from cyber and nuclear attacks. It’s a massive job.
They are leaders in IT, cyber and telecommunications and provide battle-winning communications to every part of the Army.
They are experts in engineering and operating systems, networks and cyber equipment and have deployed on every operation the Army has been involved in.
The ability for military commanders to send and receive information at speed, while preventing the enemy from doing the same, has always been the key to success. That’s the role of the Royal Signals.
I enlisted as a soldier in 1972 aged 18 and trained as a radio telegraphist.
I could have joined a glamorous cavalry unit or an infantry unit with a rich history but I chose to join the Signals. My final act in the Army was to perform as the lone piper at the Royal Edinburgh
Military Tattoo in 2009. When I was 15, my dad David, a pipe major who served 25 years in the TA, took me to the Tattoo.
The smart-alec teenage me told him that one day I would be the lone piper. Forty years later, there I was playing my bagpipes on the castle ramparts with my father in the audience.
I retired at midnight that night, the perfect end to my career. The Army is a meritocracy – success depends upon what you do, not who you are, not who your parents are, not what school or university you went to, not what class you supposedly are.
It’s a real honour to have played a part in the 100-year history of the Royal Corps of Signals and I feel honoured to be included in the book. Here’s to the next 100 years.”