ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shaun is a retired Senior Operations and Logistics Manager, experienced in warehousing, stock managment, goods inwards, picking and packing, transport, freight, courier, sales order processing and administration and associated commercial activities, export licensing and paperwork, and documentary Letters of Credit, mainly in the computer networking hardware and defence equipment sectors, including weapons, ammunition, explosives, plant and machinery handling. Specialised in Special Forces weapons and equipment for military and police intervention units. 

In 2020 he was approached to come out of retirement to take up a post as a specialist logistician contractor to the Department of Health and Social Care in the Covid Emergency Response Freight Team. Initially and voluntarily working as the permanent Emergency Night Desk Controller ensuring the emergency out of hours despatch of PPE to hospitals during the ramp-up phase of the Covid response, as the supply situation stabilised he moved up to become the Operational Freight Finance Controller, ensuring that the airlines and freight companies invoiced in accordance with the sometimes complex freight contracts, saving over £5million of taxpayers' funds in identifying invoicing errors and inappropriate use of exchange rate calculations. Finally he was responsible for complex cost-modelling and remodelling scenarios to identify the most economic means and routes of disposing of millions of pounds of excess, time expired stock. 

In his spare time, Shaun volunteered as a uniformed instructor in the Royal Air Force Air Cadets, spending a total of 34 years as a Warrant Officer (12 years) and a Commissioned Officer (22 years) in the Training Branch of the RAF Volunteer Reserve, retiring as a Squadron Leader in 2018. Roles included being a Squadron Warrant Officer, Training Officer, Adjutant, Supply Officer, Weapons / Shooting Officer, Squadron Commander, and various staff appointments at Wing, Region and Corps HQ levels. 

He was a Weapons Instructor Trainer Assessor and a senior instructor on a specialist Small Arms Training Team, and a First Aid Trainer Assessor on the National First Aid Training Team and Inter-Cadet Services First Aid Panel. He was also a qualified Combat Marksmanship Coach, and a qualified United States Marine Corps Pistol Marksman. 

Notable achievements - Won the Marshall Trophy for the Most Improved Unit in the Air Cadet Organisation over a protracted period (2006-2009) for taking a demoralised and underperforming unit, and through leadership and mentoring the staff team, turning it into a successful unit achieving dramatic improvements in membership (from c10 to over 75 active members); in training results; in participation; fundraising to purchase a minibus to facilitate more activities; and in sporting and Duke of Edinburgh's Awards achieved. 

Wrote the Scheme of Work for the first Corps-level First Aid Instructors Course, accepted without amendment at the first instance by the awarding body. 

Doubled the capacity on the Corps Parachute Course from 30-60 trainees, and from one course to multiple courses annually, through analysing the accommodation and instructor capacity at the training venue (RAF Weston-on-the-Green under the auspices of No 1 Parachute Trainng School RAF Brize Norton) and proposing changes to the course structure and staffing. 

In his spare time Shaun enioys all types of photography and spent c5 years as a Volunteer Photographer at the local parkrun prior to the Covid pandemic. He has been the team photographer for various of his wife's ladies' rugby teams, and the Notts/Lincs/Derbyshire tri-county rugby competitions finals. He has recently completed a Master of Arts degree in photography through Falmouth University. He is a licentiate of the Disabled Photographers Society, and is a Committee Member and Military Heritage Coordinator of the Royal Photographic Society's Archaeology and Heritage special interest section. 

He is a family man and loves spending time with family, in particular his 5 grandchildren, who - of course - have him wrapped around their little fingers! Enjoys researching his family tree, reading, rugby, good single malt Scotches and excellent Irish whiskey!