JOINING the Jersey Field Squadron more than two decades ago as a private soldier, Major David Watson has returned to its ranks as Officer Commanding.
The 44-year-old chartered accountant has just begun a three-year posting leading Jersey’s own contribution to the defence of the realm, a unit that carries the honour of being the modern incarnation of the Island’s Militia.
That means it can trace its history back to 1337, making the Squadron by far the oldest unit in the British Army. It also is why the Mount Bingham-based reserve force, although a member of the Corps of Royal Engineers, has its own distinct cap badge.
With such history, Major Watson is fully appreciative of the honour of commanding Jersey’s militia, which was reconstituted as a Territorial Army unit in the late 1980s and stands as the Island’s defence contribution to the UK government.
He said: “I have always wanted to command the squadron, from the moment I first walked through the gates of the barracks in May 2003. It is an absolute privilege to achieve that, and lead an hugely impressive organisation.”
Although born and bred in Newcastle, Major Watson has lived in Jersey for 23 years, having met his Jersey-born wife Catherine at university. He was in Leeds; she in Glasgow but they were brought together by both being in the Royal Naval Reserve, and they met on a training camp in Portsmouth.
Neither of his parents were in the military although his sister was a regular officer and coincidentally the siblings were both elevated to the rank of Major by the same promotion board in December 2020.
After graduating, the-then Mr Watson successfully applied for a job in Jersey at Deloitte, where he qualified as an accountant.
In parallel, he began his army career, joining the Jersey Field Squadron as a Sapper – the Royal Engineers’ term for a private soldier – in 2003. Two years later, he commissioned as an officer after ten weekends of training followed by a ten-day battle camp and three weeks at Sandhurst.
Just 18 months after becoming an officer, which led to him commanding a troop of engineers on his return to Jersey, Major Watson volunteered to serve in Afghanistan – Operation Herrick 6, for those familiar with Britain’s involvement in that 20-year war.
He said: “I was based down in Helmand, in Lashkar Gah, where we were working with local nationals to improve the infrastructure: security, health, education and water … we were digging a lot of wells. These towns and villages back then really had nothing, and there was a sea change in development between then and 2020.”
Like in any war, the deserts, plains, fields and marshes of Helmand was dangerous turf, despite the ‘hearts and minds’ mission.
“As soon as you went outside the camp, there were suicide bombings and attacks on the gates. When I was there in 2007, there was not a huge amount of IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices], which really picked up later on, but I was still involved in an incident when someone was killed by one.”
Afghanistan was a six-month tour which, adding pre- and post-deployment activity, equated to a full year out of the office, although then-Lieutenant Watson’s employer was very supportive.
Back at the squadron, he returned to his troop commander role, organising training, exercises and the career management of about 20 part-time soldiers.
Major Watson did that for around eight years before becoming the unit’s Operations Officer – by this time he was a Captain – responsible for training across the whole squadron. He also was appointed its Second in Command which extended his career-management role to the entire unit.
His promotion to Major six years ago was obviously welcome but it did pose a problem: in the reserves, one needs to find a role and as the squadron had an OC, opportunities in Jersey were rather limited.
He said: “I searched around and found a role which I could do remotely from Chatham [where the Royal Engineers has its headquarters]. So, until recently, my role has been based there: working across the whole reserve corps, focusing on recruiting but also supporting the Deputy Corps Colonel.”
The term of the preceding Officer Commanding of the Jersey Field Squadron, Major Ross Barnes, was extended by a year to four and came to an end last month.
After applying in September and going before a selection board a month later, Major Watson was the successful candidate to replace him.
Already living in the Island was obviously a major feather in the Major’s beret, as was the fact that his already-extended Chatham-based role naturally came to an end in January. Yet it was far from settled and he still had to satisfy the army that he was the right man for the job.
He did, and his own three-year posting began on 20 April.
He said: “At the moment, I’m still getting my head around the whole role. I’ve obviously been part of the squadron before, with my roles really focusing on the training and command side of our fantastic reservists.
“What I found in last two weeks is that there are lots of other elements: for example, the unit’s relationship with the Jersey government and the management of our real estate. We have a fantastic facility on Mount Bingham, which is definitely the best reserve barracks that I have ever been to.
“We also have eight permanent staff and there is the finance side too. But I’m thoroughly enjoying the challenge.”
So, what are Major Watson’s priorities now he has command of Jersey’s own contribution to the defence of the realm?
He said: “Off the back of last year’s Defence Review [by the UK government], there is a real focus on ‘warfighting’, so my job will be to align the squadron with that emphasis.
“Back in the day, the focus was on armoured warfare and the threat from the east. Then, a huge amount of time and effort was spent on Afghanistan, which revolved around counterinsurgency and less on the armoured piece.
“Last year’s review said that we need to double lethality by 2027 and treble it by 2030. What that means is improving our ability to fight a war and practically for me that means, for example, taking training out of the classroom and into the field.
“So, that is what I want to do: really pushing for the squadron to develop its skills and drills outside for as long as possible rather than staying in the barracks or leaving its gates for only a few hours.
“The squadron is still focused on its key responsibilities, including bridging, demolition, water supply, repairs and mine-clearance, but it will be taught in the field, where possible, and then practised and consolidated on exercise.”
The squadron is currently building up to this year’s annual camp, which is a pan-reserve exercise called Steadfast Defender. It will involve around 5,000 troops across numerous locations. Details are yet to be confirmed but Major Watson suspects that the Jersey Field Squadron will probably teamup with its sister squadrons in its regiment to form a fully formed unit.
If moving to a stronger warfighting footing with more realistic training and exercises is Major Watson’s first priority, recruitment is a close second.
The squadron currently has around 55 members but can take more, and members move on for a variety of reasons. New banners have popped up across town, and the squadron will also have a stand at this long weekend’s Boat Show.
Recruitment was something Major Watson was focused on at corps level in Chatham so he now intends to leverage that knowledge at a local level.
Part of that marries with the warfighting bit: getting out and about more to improve the visibility of the reserve unit. As an example, it recently carried out its annual mandatory fitness tests at the Airport Playing Fields, and received encouraging support from motorists going past.
Major Watson said: “There are probably a hundred reasons why people join the army and even more why they join the reserves.
“I think in Jersey, people want to do something very different from their day job, and that is what I want training to be. Last year, for instance, we had an exercise with some Merlin helicopters. I have operated with helicopters with the squadron a few times, and in Afghanistan, but it is definitely one of those things you do not get to do on civvy street. Our message is: ‘Why don’t you do something different with your weekend?’
“You get paid for your time and effort but I’m not sure if that is such a big reason for joining in Jersey. ‘Doing something different’ is key, as is the ability to travel off Island.
“In my time, I have been to Afghanistan, Oman, Cyprus, Germany, the Netherlands, France and obviously the UK. Colleagues, I know, have been to America, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Ascension Island and the Falklands Islands.
“I particularly like that chance to get off the Rock; Covid was probably the longest time that I have ever spent in Jersey. It is a lovely island, but it is good to get away every now and then.”
Major Watson added that the chance to get fit was also a draw, with the squadron having a well-equipped gym which is free for its members to use.
As well as recruitment, a big priority for him is retention: keeping people by keeping the training exciting and relevant.
Major Watson has a busy life out of uniform too. He and Catherine have four children: Charlie (11), Hugo (9), Sophia (5) and Rupert (3).
He said: “Both of us have full-time jobs too so a bit of organisation is required. Catherine has a senior role in government and is also the Crown Dependency representative for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. We need to coordinated and flexible, but Catherine is incredibly understanding.”
In his day job, Major Watson is Chief Finance Officer at Tiller Technologies, whose main product is ‘Verified by Tiller’ – an electronic identification and verification system that has recently evolved into an onboarding platform for regulated and supervised businesses.
He said he was extremely grateful to his supportive family and employer and was looking forward to his next three years as OC.
He said: “Jersey can be very proud of its militia’s long history and I want to ensure that that pride extends to its future too.”
