Steve Dunlop Photographer

Bob

Bob (foreground in photo above) is Managing Director of Sec Tech UK, a specialist security company providing amongst other things, Bodyguards to high end clients. He along with fellow directors Mick and Beau Emms (not pictured) are neighbours. (Beau is too big to fit in a picture with anyone else so I’ll have to deal with him in a separate blog).

They call our local pub “The Office”.  I’ve been present at quite a few office meetings over the years.

Bob hails from Ashington in Northumberland.  Ashington is famous for two things. Bobby & Jackie Charlton. Three if you include their Uncle Jackie Milburn. 

Bob lived in the same street as Bobby & Jackie’s mother Cissy Charlton in the early eighties and often saw them visiting their Mum. It was Cissy that pushed the boys into professional football. 

Like many other young lads in that area at that time Bob left school to work in the Coal Mines. He served an apprenticeship as a Mechanical Fitter building diesel locomotives used to transport men & materials underground to the coal face. He qualified with an HNC (Higher National Certificate) in Mechanical & Production Engineering.

But it wasn’t building diesels that provided Bob with the skillset appropriate to Security & Bodyguarding.

Bob joined the Army.

Bob’s military career consisted of 22 years of service to his country. He served with the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Logistics Corps. He was commissioned at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and he retired with the rank of Major. 

Surprisingly Bob isn’t a trained, qualified and licensed bodyguard himself. Beau and Mick run the operational aspects of the business. Bob runs the commercial aspects of the business.  He has an Honours Degree in International Business Administration with French & German.  During Covid-Lockdown Bob has improved his Spanish, moving from beginner to intermediate level. Pretty handy as when he’s not working in London he lives in Spain.

Being a Northumberland lad, Bob often greets me as ‘Bonnie Lad’ insisting it’s a term of endearment.  I’m sure it is but I’m not likely to pick an argument with him about it – he can call me what he likes.

Mick

Mick is a Close Protection Officer (Bodyguard to you and me) with Sec Tech UK. He wears a suit and twirly ear piece to work. High End clients – definitely not a Bouncer!

Mick along with his colleague Beau are in charge of the operational side of Sec Tech.

We met at The Leinster Arms in Bayswater W2. He and his colleagues are regulars there. They are all broad shouldered men (to say the least) so I once tried to set a rule with the pub manager that they should only be allowed to stand at the bar one at a time so that I could easily see and choose my Ale.

Mick proudly served his country in the Army and MOD for 25 years. It was a career that took him all over the world: Hong Kong, Belize, Canada, Mexico, and pretty much all of Europe.

His recent work as a CPO has taken him to Somali Land and back to Hong Kong 30 years after his first visit with the Army.

Mick is a highly trained Medic. This comes about from his time in the Army and his 7 years with Mountain Rescue in North Wales

It’s fair to say that Mick normally has a lot to say. So it’s a measure of the man that he’s never told me these two stories below. I heard them from Bob: 

“About five or six years ago Mick saved the life of a young lad coming out of the Hostel next door to the Leinster Arms. The lad had a fit and was choking on his tongue. Mick was having a drink outside the Lenny and went over to help when he saw the commotion. He freed the lad’s airway and kept him stable until London Ambulance arrived. There is no doubt, he saved that lad’s life.”

“About two years ago on a very cold winter’s night, Mick and I were just outside Temple Tube station and we saw someone lying on the ground with people stepping over him. An old guy in his seventies had fallen and punctured his head. There was a lot of blood gushing everywhere. Mick used his ‘Help for Heroes’ handkerchief to plug the wound whilst I called an ambulance. Again, I have no doubt he saved the old lad’s life.”

I’m always glad that Mick is a friend. It’s good to have a Mick on your side.

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