Ed Grandison, 46, from Kings Norton, is a Royal Navy Reservist who was serving on fast fleet tanker Wave Knight, spearhead of a crackdown on piracy
By Andy Richards
He is the modest Midlands minibus owner who swooped to save hostages held by dangerous pirates off the coast of Somalia.
Ed Grandison, 46, from Kings Norton, is a Royal Navy Reservist who was serving on fast fleet tanker Wave Knight, spearhead of a crackdown on piracy.
They helped to free 13 Yemeni fisherman who had been held hostage by the pirates for seven days.
Soon afterwards, his team were the first reservists to open fire at sea since the Falklands War when they chased off brigands trying to board a Norwegian tanker.
Leading Seaman Grandison, says you should join RNR if you love a challenge.
The minibus and chauffeur business boss’s Reservist career has taken him all over the world and led to a Royal seal of approval as he was named Reservist of the Year at a Military Awards ceremony.
Ed said: “I relive those events nearly every day. I am so patriotic and proud of winning the award. I was invited to Clarence House to meet Prince Charles. He said I was a credit to myself, and he thanked me and also my family for supporting me.
“I’m Brummie, from a working-class background like so many people in Birmingham, but I’ve travelled the world, met some amazing people and royalty, and I was getting paid for it all at the same time.
“Joining RNR is one of the best things a young person can do. You get a real insight into what’s happening around the world.
“I thought Birmingham was the world. It’s only when I have gone away with the Navy that I have seen the opportunities out there.”
The Royal Naval Reserve was formed under the Naval Forces Act of 1903.
More than 70,000 reservists played a part in the First World War, and almost half a million were enlisted in the Second World War.
There are now 22 units across the UK, with classrooms, gyms and sports.
Via: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/
