Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2013 | Page 13

INTERVIEW Ken Hicks By Peter White In the first of a special two-part interview, Peter White talks to Bembridge’s Ken Hicks about some of his interesting escapades and narrow escapes while serving in the Army. Listening to Ken Hicks talking about his Service life is a bit like thumbing your way through a thriller novel. Every sentence has a twist, although Ken is still somewhat restricted on what he can actually talk about publicly, as he still falls under the jurisdiction of the Official Secrets’ Act. What Ken can reveal is that in a career that took him all around the world, he has experienced more than a few moments when he genuinely thought he was about to breathe his last. He mused: “Yes there were occasions – a razor was held to my throat and a gun pointed at my head. But I have always been very fortunate.” When Ken was a pupil at Nettlestone Primary School and later at Sandown Grammar School, he could not possibly have envisaged what was to unwind in front of him. He said: “I left school at 16, and didn’t know what I wanted to do, but at 17 I wanted to see more of the world. At the time the Korean War was on, so I decided to go to the Army Recruiting Office in Newport and join up.” He joined the East Surrey Regiment in January 1952, and on February 7 – the day after King George VI died – he went to Kingston Barracks. “Suddenly I was thrown into a totally di