I am Colonel David Bates ARRC and I have been a Trustee on the board of the former MSMSA and the current MST since October 2015; being elected as the military representative whilst I was serving as Director Army Nursing Services. I have been married to Helen for 30 years and have enjoyed 37 years’ experience as an Army nurse. I have been deployed all round the world gaining a huge awareness of cultures, beliefs, challenges especially inequalities.
More recently I have held every appointment as a board member in the charity sector. I have a passion for military and social history, I see everything through a public health lens and I champion inclusivity whilst countering inequality across the political and socio-economic spectra.
I believe that Mary Seacole is a role model for all, not just care givers, intrepid travellers and entrepreneurs! She demonstrated what people from minority and marginalised communities can do if they have the will. Her links with the Army and her love for soldiers and helping people in adversity provides a direct link to our current Army and more widely, Defence Medical Services and the missions that we find ourselves deployed in.
I am still an Army Reservist at the tender age of 57 and will continue to follow where Mary and others led in the Crimea theatre of operations by maintaining my competence in order to continue bringing my experience to bear in support of this brilliant Trust.
I hope that you are inspired by us and that you find some way to follow in Mary’s footsteps or at least learn lessons from her mission.
