Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2009 | Page 31

INTERVIEW

life

Married to the
military
For Martin White, it wasn’t a matter of balancing his high
flying military career with the needs of his family.
The two went hand in hand. Part 2 of 3

Article by Roz Whistance
WHEN you meet people who have been in the
military there is always a sense of buttoned
lips, of mum’s the word, of careless talk
costing lives. Talking to Martin White, the
Isle of Wight’s Lord Lieutenant, about his
military career, you realise why: – that the
army is sufficient family, while operations are
experiences so intense that they cannot be
expected to be understood by outsiders. You
had to be there.
Martin’s career culminated with his key role in
the first Gulf War. But when do you identify the
start of a glittering career? For Martin White it
was so far, so sure-footed. He had gone from
Island schoolboy who had cut his teeth in the
Army Cadets to training at Sandhurst. From
there he commanded a troop for two years in
Germany. It was the start of two love affairs –
one with Germany and the other with his future
wife, Fiona, who was also in the Army.
A civilian might assume an army marriage is
one characterised by sacrifice of one’s rightful
freedom. But Martin describes a life in which
the benefits far outweigh the strictures. “I
don’t think there was any tour of duty that
we had where I thought ‘I was glad to leave
that’. Every posting had something good about
it, whether it be the job, or whether it was
associated with some family event, or both.”
Their first posting as a couple was to a
training unit in north Wales. “Fiona and I
had a great time. It was a junior soldiers unit

in Snowdon, and we were running lots of
adventure training for boys of 15 and 16, and
while in some ways you’re like a school master
to them it was great fun and an essential start
to their Army careers.”
He explains the structure of life in the army.
“You do a couple of tours as a lieutenant, one
commanding soldiers in the field and perhaps
one in a training unit.” After two years he was
just coming up to being made captain, and
was sent off to Air Despatch, working with the
RAF. By the time they had completed their time
there, they’d gone from no children to three
– their first son was swiftly followed by twins,
also boys.
“Your life then takes on a different dimension,
but you still have the demands of your
profession. Fiona had left the Forces by then,
being busy with the family. But living on a
base, be it RAF or army, you are very much part
of wider army family.” It was the 1970s and
the troubles in Ireland were at their height.
“Army bases might seem to be a bit insular but
they are a great support for all the wives and
families whose husbands are going through a
common experience.”
After his time with the RAF Martin was posted
to Cyprus. This was just before the Turks
invaded the island in the 1970s, so while the
threat of dispute was very present there were
opportunities to enjoy the island, and Martin’s
love of water sports came to the fore as he
captained the army water polo team.
From water polo in Cyprus to the somewhat
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