STEVE KERSHAW joined the Royal Navy in 1963 as a General List officer. A passion for flying led him to fixed-wing training in 1968. He joined 800 Squadron in 1970, flying the legendary Buccaneer strike aircraft, embarked on HMS Eagle until she was decommissioned in 1972. Training in the commando helicopter role followed, with a period flying the Royal Marines off HMS Hermes. In 1974, he was posted to the last Royal Navy Buccaneer squadron, embarked on Ark Royal, following which he was shore-based at RAF Honington in Suffolk, where he remains near his family.
SIMON KERSHAW saw service with the armed forces as an exciting adventure for a young man. However, his inclinations were land-based. Graduating in archaeology from the University of Liverpool, he drifted into a job selling musical instruments, alongside service in the Army Reserve. A mid-life crisis in 2006 forced him into a career as a police officer. He resides in Worcestershire, with a wife and two boys.