At sixteen Dick chose the former. He joined the army and excelled as he rose through the ranks, serving in Oman, The Falklands, Belize and Desert Storm, eventually making Lieutenant Colonel. His time in the forces is hard to investigate but what is evident is that he was a very well respected soldier; his army nickname was "Strawbridge Over Troubled Water". Everyone I interviewed agreed that Dick was a bastion of support and leadership as well as….when needs must…a rampant killing machine. Andy McNab described him as “terrifying in battle”.
Lt.Col. Strawbridge and DRD Alpha Nine (Desert Rapid Deployment), 1991, Falafel, Iraq
His career and background, apart from the extinction of the British Albatross, could not prima facia be any more rosy. He has been an exemplary soldier, citizen, husband and father. As I researched him I started to feel that there was nothing to write about. He was exactly as it said on the tin. But then, as I got closer to the present day and his involvement in TV and radio, I started to see cracks in the veneer of perfection. Cracks that turned into chasms. Chasms that cut deep into a layer of hypocrisy, lies and pure gluttonous evil.
Video Killed The Field Radio Star
Dick got his lucky break into the media after appearing in the audience of Gardener’s Question Time on a wintery Sunday in 1994. His innocuous question about trellising Clematis Montana revealed a man whose voice and charisma was tangible, even via radio. The story goes (as yet unconfirmed) that after the broadcast, GQT producer Simon Seys spoke to Dick and saw in him that rare raw talent, that seed of stardom.
At this point in Dick’s life fate plays an interesting twist. The aforementioned producer was working on a new TV show and needed contestants who looked good on camera but also had mechanical and organizational skills. He was invited at once and eagerly agreed. Dick put together a team of his old army buddies with the intention of dominating the first series of Robot Wars. Sadly their entry, Sludgehammer, failed to qualify, after what Dick described as “catastrophic battery issues.” The Sludgehammer team was not going to give up and soon found bigger gear to chew….
Investigating The Strawbridges Part Four: “Scrap Heap Challenger Disaster” will be published shortly.
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