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A veteran interview with

Ali Brown

Ali Brown joined the army in 1984 and rose to the rank of Colonel. She was in the first female intake at Sandhurst College and subsequently saw action in Iraq and the Balkans.

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Discover 23 key interview topics and talking points
02:00
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
04:00
Weapons training
08:00
Passing Out Parade
16:00
Royal Green Jackets
18:00
IRA (Irish Republican Army)
20:00
Officer's Mess
24:00
Germany
26:00
Grenadier Guards
28:00
Cold War: Berlin
32:00
the White Mice
34:00
SIB
36:00
Homosexuality
38:00
Berlin Wall
40:00
Disbandment
42:00
Operation Granby
44:00
Iraq
54:00
Instructing at Sandhurst
60:00
Bosnia
66:00
Army Staff College
72:00
Kosovo
78:00
Colonel
82:00
Monmouth
90:00
Reflecting on the WRAC

About Ali Brown

From a young age Ali knew she wanted to join the army, and was part of the new 1984 revolution of women that went straight to training at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy.

Ali describes the developments in training, such as compulsory weapon exercises and more intensive physical fitness. She was posted to 10 Company Aldershot where she took on administrative roles in welfare and career management. Ali was then taken to the Royal Green Jackets, then the Light Division Depot at Winchester. She describes this as the point in which her ambition for a military career took over and she began to dedicate herself entirely to the army. From here she was posted to the NATO camp in Sennelager, the Grenadier Guards, and Hohne for gunnery training where she began to understand Soviet tactics in the Cold War.

When the Gulf war broke out in 1990 Ali knew that the WRAC was coming to an end. She was initially told that as a member of the WRAC she could not go to the Gulf, but she was grateful that the orders changed. In her interview she gives an incredible description of her experiences on ground operation. Ali continued to serve with the Adjutant General Corps and left as a full Colonel responsible for training across the whole of the army.

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Evie Painter
Transcribed by:
Rachel Jennings

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

If you would like a version of the transcript that has been transcribed manually by Rachel Jennings, please complete this form or email info@legasee.org.uk.

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Home | Veterans | Ali Brown

A veteran interview with

Ali Brown

Screenshot

Ali Brown joined the army in 1984 and rose to the rank of Colonel. She was in the first female intake at Sandhurst College and subsequently saw action in Iraq and the Balkans.

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Related topics & talking points

Adjutant General Corps Army Staff College Artillery Logistics Berlin Wall Bosnia Checkpoint Charlie Cold War: Berlin Colonel Court Martial Disbandment Germany Grenadier Guards Gulf War Gunnery training Homosexuality Instructing at Sandhurst IRA (Irish Republican Army) Iraq Kosovo Marriage Monmouth Officer's Mess Operation Granby Passing Out Parade Police and Criminal Evidence Act Reflecting on the WRAC Royal Green Jackets Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Sennelager NATO camp SIB societal change toward women Soviet tactics The Armoured Infantry Training Advisory Team The Warrior (armoured fighting vehicle) the White Mice Training exercises Treatment of women Weapons training

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Brown, Ali. A Veteran Interview with Ali Brown. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 17 Dec. 2014 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/ali-brown/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
APA Style:
Brown, A. (2014, December 17). A Veteran Interview with Ali Brown [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/ali-brown/
Chicago Style:
Brown, Ali. 2014. A Veteran Interview with Ali Brown. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, December 17. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/ali-brown/
Harvard Style:
Brown, A. (2014). A Veteran Interview with Ali Brown. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 17 December. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/ali-brown/ (Accessed: 6 March 2026)
Vancouver Style:
Brown, A. A Veteran Interview with Ali Brown [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2014 Dec 17 [cited 2026 Mar 6]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/ali-brown/
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