Phil Ashby

A genuine hero and a fantastic story-teller, Major Phil Ashby makes audiences stand to attention at corporate events as he shares thrilling episodes from his prestigious career as a Royal Marines officer and UN peacekeeper.

Now an engaging  motivational , keynote  and  after dinner  speaker, Phil hails from the West Coast of Scotland. Joining the Royal Marines at the age of 17, he was sponsored to read Engineering at Pembroke College, Cambridge. He was awarded the Commando Medal as top student at the end of Officer Training and, at 28, he became the youngest officer to be made Major in the British Armed Forces.

One of Phil’s most memorable missions was in Sierra Leone, where he had enlisted himself to join UN peacekeepers.

Arriving in the conflict-ridden country as rebel forces were re-starting the civil war, the lives of Phil and his UN co-workers were put into grave danger when a local warlord turned on them. They were taken hostage and, after days of being brutally held captive, Phil led a daring plan to help the group escape through the jungle to be met by the British Army.

Phil was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his incredible demonstration of ‘Coolness, Courage and Leadership’. His experience in Sierra Leone was chronicled in his best-selling autobiography anddocumented in a one-hour episode of ‘Banged Up Abroad’.

Although safely back in the UK, Phil had picked up a spinal virus; paralysed from the waist down, he was forced to re-evaluate his professional life when front-line soldiering became impossible.

He has since made a full recovery and is able to pursue his love of rock climbing. As an internationally qualified Mountain Leader and a Jungle Warfare Instructor, he continues to inspire others with his insatiable zest for life.

His speaking topics include:

- Escape from Sierra Leone

- Importance of training and teamwork

- Contingency planning and operating under extreme conditions

- Making the most of things