IN CONVERSATION WITH
MAJOR GENERAL JOHN STOKOE CB CBE David Birley DB Your career is like a Boys Own adventure story, you joined the Army as a boy and rose through the ranks to Major General. How did it all begin? JS I was born in 1947 in Harrogate. My father was a regimental sergeant major in the Royal Signals and we travelled the world. We were in Cyprus and then Egypt. We returned from there on the troopship Empire Windrush – better known for its role in the Windrush Generation. Most of my secondary school time was in Hong Kong. We returned when I was fourteen and I went to Richmond Grammar School in Yorkshire. DB Did you have a happy childhood? JS Yes, I did - it was great fun. Moving around so much you made friends quickly. After Hong Kong I could not settle at an English Grammar School and I thought ‘how could I get out of schooling?’ The only way I could think of was to be an Army Apprentice Tradesman. I was fifteen and three days when I signed my papers and found myself back in Harrogate in 1963 for three years. I was promoted to Lance Corporal and sent to the Royal Signals depot so they could see what I was made of. Deemed appropriate for officer training, I went to Sandhurst for two years and was then commissioned in 1968. DB Because you had come up through the ranks did you get your leg pulled by the public school types at Sandhurst? JS Some found it difficult in that our backgrounds were so different. They looked down on me but it did not worry me. I was given the Royal Signals Order of Merit prize which I guess was quite an achievement for an ex-boy soldier. DB How did your career evolve? JS I was asked if I would like to serve with the Gurkhas in the Far East. I never had any thought of doing so, but it sounded interesting! So I went to Malaya followed by Hong Kong, India and then Nepal. That was a fascinating country with wonderful people. I have great fondness for Nepal and trekked across the Himalayas both with my work and on holiday. I also met my wife, Jenny, who was an Army Nursing Sister in Nepal, caring for Gurkha families and Nepalese hill people. I then joined the Grenadier Guards in 1972 as a platoon commander, with tours of Germany and Northern Ireland. I returned to Northern Ireland in 1974 for two years as an intelligence officer. After various appointments, I became the Colonel responsible for Army plans in Germany then, as a Brigadier, the head of Royal Signals Germany. After my time at the Royal College of Defence Studies in 1994, I went to the MOD, responsible for Army policy, followed by two years at Army HQ at Wilton as a Major General at 48. DB To what do you attribute your spectacular success? JS A number of things. Firstly the unstinting support of my wife, Jenny. I also believe that if you enjoy what you are doing, those working for you will also enjoy it, which gives great satisfaction. With a good team you can manage both good and difficult times. Also not looking to the next job all the time; enjoy what you are doing and continue to be surprised at what you are asked to do next. For example when I was thinking of leaving the Army I was asked to stay on for a while as an acting Lieutenant General to become Commander of the UK Field Army, which capped it all. >
136 | Sherborne Times | August 2021
