14 Platoon of the Sovereign’s Company
Grant Steel
Post RMAS I spent a year in NZ before joining my battalion at Terendak, Malaysia as a platoon commander from there it was onto Vietnam for a 12 month tour. On return to NZ, I qualified as a rotary and fixed wing pilot. So back to Vietnam flying Sioux and Kiowa choppers for an exciting 10 months. Followed by an attachment to 11 Flight AAC in Singapore for a couple of years. It was the period of the oil shock so not too much flying more of a two year holiday. Back in the infantry it was OC Rifle Coy again in Singapore then onto Staff College. Only home for a year. I then spent a year at Warminster attached to the School of Inf where I ran into Johnny Thoyts and Derek Napier briefly. I ran our School before taking over as CO of the 1st Battalion back in Singapore. I attended JSSC in Canberra before retiring as Dir of Ops at Def HQ in 1987. In a 23 year career I had spent 14 years out of NZ and had 17 postings! Enough! Time to settle down.
In civie life I worked in senior HR and training roles. I was, at one stage the General Manager Technical Training for Telecom NZ. But I ended up in Banking first in the Bank of NZ then transferred to Melbourne to head up HR For National Australia Bank. Why banking? As John Dillinger said when asked why he robbed banks “because that’s where the money is!” Worked for me and it seemed to do so for Ian.
Married twice; two kids doing well in Auckland and one precocious granddaughter.
May 2021
Photo taken at recent reunion