| Event type: | Meeting |
| Date: | 2nd September 2026 |
| Time: | 2:00 pm |
| Venue: | Evesham Methodist Church |
Speaker: Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jackson OBE
"My first and last tours in Northern Ireland, 1972/1994; a comparison"
Synopsis: Mark Jackson spent more than 4 years on short and long tours of Northern Ireland in the 70s, 80s and 90s. He will compare the differences between arriving in Londonderry shortly after Bloody Sunday in 1972 and being in South Armagh in 1994 when peace finally came to the province. He will explain the way that the Army operated and how professional it became in supporting the police and setting the scene for the political solution that eventually was reached.
Speaker: Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jackson OBE, Chair, Board of Trustees, The Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire). Mark grew up in Willersey and his family had a business in Evesham for over 40 years. Two Great Uncles from Kidderminster, Leonard and Lionel Humphries, served in the Worcestershire Regiment in World War 1. His father, Anthony Jackson, who was also born in Kidderminster, served in the Worcestershire Regiment in World War 2 and Malaya.
It is therefore hardly surprising that Mark followed their example, serving a full career in the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment before becoming the CEO of St Richard's Hospice, Worcester, for eleven years. He is President of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regimental Association in Worcester and was High Sheriff of Worcestershire in 2020.