James, originally from Harrogate, joined the Army when he left Newcastle University in 1995. He commissioned into the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and served in Germany, Poland and Canada before a United Nations Cyprus tour, returning to Yorkshire as a Platoon Commander at the Army Foundation College in 1998. Back with 1RTR in 2000, he saw operational tours in Kuwait and in Afghanistan commanding a light role team, then into Iraq on Operation Telic in 2003 as Operations Officer. Appointed acting Major, he remained in Iraq as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Commander of the Iraq Survey Group in Baghdad, getting back in the nick of time to get married to Judith. From 2004 – 2006 he commanded H Squadron 1RTR, and by a triumph of deception returned to regimental duty to take over “Badger” 2 RTR, deploying to Afghanistan in 2010 to command the Armoured Group on Herrick 13, for which he was Mentioned in Dispatches. He retired from the Army in 2012, although remains a Sandhurst lecturer on 'Operational Leadership' - a task which he maintains is a lot more daunting than Operational Leadership itself.
A keen racer and an ARDS instructor, his motorsport career had managed to blossom despite the best efforts of military service and he has raced in Europe and the UK extensively, helped by an interest in journalism that often opened doors that otherwise would have remained closed. He founded the Forces' Motorsport Charity in 2012, which in the first four years has seen over 800 soldiers, sailors and airmen through their program. Formally supported by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, the charity has grown immensely in a short period of time and has three formal roles to Defence – in the provision of sport, training and vocational assistance to those affected by military operations.
When not instructing or racing, spare time is spent with Tom (9) and Holly (5), writing for EVO magazine and falling off motocross bikes. Dave the dog doesn't get much of a look