In 1961, at the age of 17, Andy volunteered to serve in the Royal Marines. He completed his initial military training at the Royal Marines base in Deal, Kent, followed by seamanship training aboard the cruiser HMS Sheffield, a ship that had seen service in the Second World War and was then based in Portsmouth.

Andy was selected for Royal Marine Commando training and was sent to the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon.

In 1982, following Argentina’s invasion of the Falkland Islands, Andy was deployed to the South Atlantic aboard HMS Fearless. After a month at sea, an amphibious landing was made at Ajax Bay, where the Marines immediately came under bombing attacks from the Argentine Air Force. Andy was part of the Commando Logistics Force based there, a vital role that ensured the fighting Marines had sufficient ammunition, food, and fuel for a full-scale war in arctic conditions.  Eventually, they fought their way into Port Stanley and accepted the Argentinian’s surrender.

Andy served from 1961 to 1994, retiring in the rank of Major and has been a permanent resident at Broughton House Veteran Care Village since January 2021.