Looking ahead
It could be supposed that sitting peacefully in the Gloucestershire countryside talking to a man who has designed and built live firing canons was a little surreal, but as with so many things in life, unlikely truth often greatly outflanks wildest imagination. Simon West, for it was he, had previously enjoyed a high-flying career as an officer in the Royal Regiment of Artillery, passing out from the Royal Military College Sandhurst and the Royal Military College of Science Shrivenham, before seeing active service in combat operations. His specialist subjects included gun technology, procurement and strategic communications, which saw him seconded to advise armed forces and international peacekeeping contingents around the world, often in some unattractively hostile theatres of operation.
Alongside his Army career, he had been and remains a registered firearms dealer (RFD), so when his 35 years of service in the Army came to its natural conclusion he sought an occupation that could use his experience and interests.
Thus, in early 2018, he was appointed executive director of the Gun Trade Association (GTA), heading a team of four in the Tewksbury office, representing its 600 trade and associate members’ interests in the commercial, political and
