'I cannot stress how extraordinary RGS is'

We catch up with widely-travelled Army officer James Riley, who has briefly returned to Yorkshire, where he looks back fondly on his days at Ripon Grammar School

ARMY officer James Riley, who left RGS in 2014, has travelled the world with his job, including working with Ukrainian troops and helping protect an airfield on the border with Poland.

Currently back in Yorkshire with the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, he will soon be deployed to Romania and Estonia for a variety of live firing exercises: “It’s a genuine privilege to take command and be responsible for our British soldiers. I have always had a passion for sport and fitness, and the Army provides constant opportunities to compete and express yourself in a physical environment.

“I also find that travel broadens your horizons, and I have been fortunate to find myself across the world experiencing different cultures and customs,” he says.

The friendships he developed and the skills he learned at Ripon Grammar School, he adds, prepared him particularly well for life beyond school.

Following A-levels in French, economics and geography, James studied French and international business at Newcastle University, which included a year abroad, partly in Paris where he worked for a private international security, and Toulouse where he studied business.

After graduating in 2019, his military journey began at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in the summer of 2020.

“Following a year’s worth of exceptionally challenging but equally rewarding officer training, I commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Gunners) in 2021, spending two years within a tranche of the regiment, before bouncing to another unit.

“My first two years took me to 16th Regiment RA at Thorney Island on the south coast where I worked with the Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) component of the Gunners and experienced operational tours to the Falkland Islands and Poland, as well as leading a team on a Nordic Skiing season.

“Deploying to the Falklands as a brand-new Second Lieutenant in June to a foot of snow was such an eye opener. I was 8,000 km from home, but I loved every moment of the five months I was there. We worked in conjunction with the Royal Airforce’s Eurofighters to provide a layered system of protection to the island’s skies.

“The opportunity to visit wildlife sites was remarkable. Beaches were littered with penguin colonies, there were whale and dolphin pods, sea lions… it was extraordinary. I also hosted a radio show on British Forces Broadcasting (BFBS). The performer within me from House Drama plays at RGS never left. (Keep smashing it Hutton House!)

“Deploying to Poland in 2022 saw us work alongside NATO partners to protect the airport at Rzsezow, close to the Ukrainian border. The USA, Polish, German and British air defence missile systems were instrumental in providing safety from potential air attacks. Southern Poland in the summer is warmer than you might think, and evenings in the medieval town square sipping a few beers with your mates was something that I look back on with fondness. The waterpark was a great place to take the soldiers to as well!

“I was fortunate to work with Ukrainian soldiers for two months in 2022, providing air defence training with several Swedish radar engineers from SAAB. The Ukrainians are an incredibly proud, and brave bunch of guys. They remain determined to fight for their homeland and I took great inspiration from them. I think about those boys a lot of the time.

Looking back on his time at school, he says: “I cannot stress enough how extraordinary RGS is. As a student, I may not have fully appreciated that. The quality of the education is clearly of the highest level, but it’s really about the people you surround yourself with.

“My two best friends today (they’ll be my best men at my wedding if I ever get that far) are from school. You experience friendship at different stages in your life, but your friends from RGS are the ones that you really grew with, and that’s something to hold onto.

‘Those who knew me back then also know that I wasn’t the strongest academically. What I really learnt from RGS was how to express myself with confidence. Music, drama, sport, presentations - these fields gave me that structure and an ability to take command of myself and others, and they set me up to becoming a junior army officer.”

His message to current students is that it’s OK to fail: “I’ve failed at many things in life, and I’ll fail at many more - exams, relationships, career aspirations - and it takes time to learn from them. But what you must do is just that - learn from them. Learn how to apply yourself better, interact with others better, manage your time better, love people better, whatever it may be. The pressure that you feel at school can seem overwhelming but stick with it and you’ll all be great.”

He had a number of favourite teachers: “Mr Demir was an absolute legend hiding down in cellars for economics lessons. Mrs Swainston was basically my second mum and we loved her during A-level French, and Mr Fell is possibly the biggest hero to have ever graced RGS’s halls,” he says.

He plans to spend about three more years in the Army: “There’s a few more stones here that need turning and I’m not done yet. I can see myself gravitating towards London and using my degree within something like project management, consultancy or events management. I could also see myself moving back to Paris, depends on if I have a girlfriend by then!”