ON July 8, we welcomed John Peters to Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club for an intimate gathering of 40 people where he shared his experiences of the Gulf War.

John was the pilot of the Tornado jet that was shot down by Saddam Hussein’s army in January 1991.

John and his navigator, John Nichol, were forced to eject from the Tornado after it was hit by enemy fire and set alight. Finding themselves stranded in the desert, they walked and crawled for miles to evade capture but unfortunately the inevitable happened and they then faced a long 47 days of torture and interrogation.

With his wife Helen, son Guy (aged two at the time) and daughter Toni (six weeks at the time) in mind it gave him the determination and courage to not give up hope.

John always believed in hope and finally the war ended and he, John Nichol and the other prisoners were released.

After enduring the torment and abuse they were taken to the local Novotel of all places before making the long emotional journey home.

After John’s insight, Mark Fish took to the stage and auctioned off four personally-signed copies of John’s book Tornado Down.

The evening was enjoyed by all and we would like to give special thanks to John Peters and his wife Helen for attending, Cleobury Golf Club for hosting the evening and all those that attended.