Tony Bray - a brief life history
MY EARLY LIFE
I was an only child in a working-class family, and spent most of my childhood in Thatcham, Berkshire. I went to school in St Bartholomew’s Grammar School in Newbury. I was an average student academically, and my only sporting achievement was as a member of the School cross-country running eight.
My greatest achievements were in the Combined Cadet Force, where I became the senior cadet of the whole contingent, and first flew solo on an RAF cadet gliding training course, aged 16. I was appointed to be a prefect through my CCF achievements, and not academic or sporting prowess!
RMA SANDHURST
On leaving school I joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst with 250 other young men, ready to endure a two-year challenging course, of mixed military and academic content. Our platoon was 25 strong and reflected a diverse mixture of public school, grammar school, army entrants, and overseas cadets.
The course was physically and mentally demanding, expecting us all to be able to think and command under the most extreme pressures. I personally developed confidence and other attributes, which have served me well throughout my whole working and personal life.
ROYAL CORPS OF TRANSPORT
On leaving Sandhurst I was commissioned into the newly-created Royal Corps of Transport. I served in the RCT in various roles for several years, before deciding to leave for personal reasons. Although my time in the army was short, the values and moral compass it gave me influence my life to this very day.
Energy, the way I value the people around me, my reliability, the ability to simplify complex situations, and to always do what I say I will do are my hallmarks.
MY CAREER IN BRITISH TELECOM
On leaving the army I joined BT as a junior manager and held a variety of management positions, being responsible for teams ranging in size from 6 to 300. I was dealing with staff, customers, trade unions, external suppliers, and overseas telecoms organisations.
I had a three-year appointment to a Commonwealth organisation, where my role as Chief of Administration made me responsible for the building and the 70 staff it housed in Pall Mall. My final achievement was to move the Bureau to a new building in central London, which I did on time and under budget!
I returned to BT and later joined the Management College in Bletchley Park. BT was going through a rigorous period of change, and we were all developing and delivering new approaches to training and motivating teams to work more effectively.
It was during this phase I realised that my long-term ambitions lay in designing and delivering training and workshops, rather than managing others to do it. So I resigned from BT, without any financial compensation, to set out on a path of self-employment.
SELF EMPLOYMENT
I have been fortunate to develop a wide range of relationships with people in varied industries, which has given me both intellectual stimulation and financial security. Despite the various sea changes of bust and boom we have endured!
I have had the privilege to work with a wide range of industries, offering both conventional training courses, and facilitated workshops to solve specific long-standing conflicts.
Along the way I have written over 20 books and training packages, with sales in excess of £3m.
AVIATION & MILITARY HISTORIAN
When Covid struck I had a really busy year of work planned … then it all went at a stroke! So, after the initial dismay, I decided to turn a life-long interest in aviation and military history into a real project.
The first success was to persuade the Army Flying Museum to let me deliver an hour-long talk on the Glider Pilot Regiment on the anniversary of D-Day – 6th June 2020. It was well received by the in-house audience of 75 and the 130 online viewers.
It has now become an annual event – the topic for 2023 was Manna from Heaven, the story of air resupply. Then in 2024 By sea, land, and air plotted the development of Britain’s defence forces over the centuries. And in 2025 I will explore the development of rotary flight.
The talks have a well developed formula – they last one hour and are well illustrated with photos, videos, and animated graphics. For 15 minutes of the time the audience see veterans or serving personnel explain their role in the topic.
Contact Me:
Tel: 07775 583493
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