Home | Veterans | Phil Shannon
Phil-Shannon

A veteran interview with

Phil Shannon

Discover how a youngster from a very musical family in Ireland makes his way up to Major Shannon, Director of Music in the Irish Guards.

Phil Shannon gives us a terrific insight into his work with the Royal Family and his tricks for finishing the Royal Music at exactly the right moment [mostly] and helping to get the Queen’s toes tapping.

He also shares some great photos with us of his time in the military.

Video Coming Soon

About Phil Shannon

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker

Copyright:
All video content, web site design, graphics, images (including submitted content), text, the selection and arrangement thereof, underlying source code, software and all other material on this Web site are the copyright of Legasee Educational Trust, and its affiliates, or their content and technology providers. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any use of materials on this Web site – including reproduction for purposes other than those noted above, modification, distribution, or republication – without the prior written permission of Legasee Educational Trust is strictly prohibited.

Home | Veterans | Phil Shannon

A veteran interview with

Phil Shannon

Phil-Shannon

Discover how a youngster from a very musical family in Ireland makes his way up to Major Shannon, Director of Music in the Irish Guards.

Phil Shannon gives us a terrific insight into his work with the Royal Family and his tricks for finishing the Royal Music at exactly the right moment [mostly] and helping to get the Queen’s toes tapping.

He also shares some great photos with us of his time in the military.

Related topics & talking points

Veteran gallery

Photos & memories

Keep on watching

More veteran stories...

Share this interview on:

https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/phil-shannon/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Shannon, Phil. A Veteran Interview with Phil Shannon. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, n.d. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/phil-shannon/. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
APA Style:
Shannon, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Phil Shannon [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved May 17, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/phil-shannon/
Chicago Style:
Shannon, Phil. n.d.. A Veteran Interview with Phil Shannon. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee. Accessed May 17, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/phil-shannon/
Harvard Style:
Shannon, P. (n.d.). A Veteran Interview with Phil Shannon. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/phil-shannon/ (Accessed: 17 May 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Shannon, P. A Veteran Interview with Phil Shannon [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; n.d. [cited 2025 May 17]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/phil-shannon/
An interview with

Ishbel Thomson

Joining the OTC at university while training as a pharmacist set Ishbel Thomson on an army career that saw her serve in many global conflicts.

Ishbel had experience with the University Officers Training Corps (OTC) and the Territorial Army (TA) before she joined the WRAC in 1985. She had trained as a pharmacist at university and it was only after graduating she considered joining the army. She recalls Crusade Eight as the first major operation she worked on alongside the local infantry unit. Ishbel describes how in this role, aside from escorting VIPS, most of the women would take on administrative work. She was then posted to C Company in Grangemouth as a Platoon Commander and comments on the changing atmosphere surrounding women's treatment in the early 1980s. Ishbel also describes how in the OTC and the TA women were afforded more opportunities, such as weapons and armed combat training, whereas the WRAC were only just introducing weapons training. From this point Ishbel underwent a series of role changes within the army; she traveled to Sandhurst, Catterick, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, and London where she completed her Masters in Administration. At Porton Down, she revisited her pharmacist experience and worked with scientists to develop pharmaceutical and technological military defences. Ishbel went on to become an Adjutant General in Bosnia, the Balkans, then a Lieutenant Colonel in Cyprus and a medic in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Reflecting on the WRAC, Ishbel feels that it gave her the grounding to begin her wider military career. An inspiring interview, we thank Ishbel for her incredible stories and for being a trailblazing woman.
Service:
Top Tags:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Keith Nutter

From Norfolk to the Samichon Valley: Keith Nutter’s Journey Through War, Duty and Reflection

‘Your life’s in their hands and their life’s in your hands.’ That’s how Keith Nutter summarises his time in Korea. After starting his working life at a local engineering firm, Keith wasn’t taken on as an apprentice. Knowing there was more of the world to see - after years of watching the American Fortresses land near his home during the Second World War - he joined the Army at 18. What unfolds next is a story of opportunity: taking each one as it came and finding light in challenging times. Keith shares his story with humility - at times underplaying his contributions to the success of their detachment - and with a warmth and clear admiration for the people he worked and lived alongside. His accounts are full of detail and humour, challenging the listener to really consider the conditions he lived and operated in.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
An interview with

Janet Brodie-Murphy

Janet worked in Welfare whilst she served in the WRAC.

Janet began her journey with the WRAC in the early 1970s and knew on arrival that it was the right career for her. Although she initially found life at Guildford a bit of shock, by the time she had finished her trade training with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, she felt like a soldier. She describes her first posting to Rheindahlen where aside from working on classified clerical work, she embarked on many trips to surrounding cities and landscapes. Janet also recalls the rising threat of Eastern Germany, and her own exposure to the realities of the Cold War. After Germany she was posted to Beaconsfield, Krefeld and Deepcut where she became chief clerk of the WRAC company in 1976. Although this was a great achievement, Janet remembers still feeling outnumbered by men in the army and experiencing gender discrimination even at her rank. The rest of the interview follows her journey to London, back to Rheindahlen, and finally becoming quartermaster at Aldershot where she campaigned for contraceptive machines in the women's blocks. A fantastic interview and a true trailblazer, we thank Janet for her inspiring story of the frustrations, limitations and power of women in the army.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker