Bob’s smock, beret, stable belt, fighting knife and medals.
Living into my 70th year, and being lucky enough to still be able to run, lift a few weights, tab with a pack, hold a conversation, and even remember great times, and some not so great times from my military career is a good place to be, there’s no doubt about that.
I have a good war chest full of old kit…from steel para helmet to dog tags.
Occasionally I take items out, and just sit with a brew and reminisce.
I try my best to keep the kit in a decent condition, as when I’m gone I’d like my kids to be able to share items out…or if they’d rather, keep them together and flog the lot on eBay.
But the most important item to keep in good condition is my mind and my memory. Far more important than my personal military memorabilia.
If my beret falls apart having been moth eaten, I still want to be able to remember the first time I touched it, and put it on my head.
My medals are all winners’ medals as I’ve mentioned before. Arguably, we fought before the full blown corporate wars came along, where armies were steered by giant corporates. But even then, the memories of conflicts that those medals represent, are no different to the many conflicts that I “attended” as a civilian having been handed no medals at the end of it.
So again, memories are everything to me, you can’t issue out memories…they’re personal, and unique to the individual.
I’ve been blogging on security issues and wee interesting stories of conflicts gone by for over 13 years now, and I’ve enjoyed every minute.
Nothing was ever written down, nothing was looked up on the internet, I’m not a journalist, I’m not a historian…I’m just the individual who was there, and can relate to what really happened at the time…all through my memories.
A good few people have been kind enough to ask if I’d turn my blog into a book at some stage…a nice thought. But my blog is there for anyone who wants to delve through it at any time. And more importantly, it’s there for my kids and grand kids to read, and see some great photos from my time on the ground, both military and post military.
Memories…it’s great to still have them…and when they slip, I too will have to read my own blog!
Bob Shepherd 
Great to hear from you, keep blogging