Summary

Robert Shaw joins Andrew to discuss his experience working as an accredited Battlefield tour guide. Bob’s career in the British Army spanned over 25 years. 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• Becoming a battlefield tour guide
• IEDD and Intelligence Work in Northern Ireland
• Hypothetical WWIII scenarios 
• Special Forces, TECHINT, & the Bin Laden Raid

Reflections

• Learning from history
• Interpretation and understanding

And much, much more …

Quotes of the Week

“One of the things about being an IEDD operator, our intent of course is investigation. And part of that is asking questions, lots of them, and getting, in a sense, answers and then following off and chasing trails or rabbit holes … It's good to be able to question everything and work out why it's there and does it fit … So it does really help with battlefield touring.” – Bob Shaw.

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*SpyCasts*

• Alan Turing: Codebreaker, Visionary, Enigma with Andrew Hodges (2024)
• The Real Ian Fleming with Nicholas Shakespeare (2024)
• ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: The D-Day Deception with National WWII Museum Curator Corey Graff (2023)
• St. Ermin’s Hotel, London – The History of a Legendary Spy Site with Stephen Duffy (2023)
• The IRA, The Troubles & Intelligence with Eleanor Williams and Thomas Leahy (2022)

DEEPER DIVE

Explore the Sites and Battlefields Discussed

• Thames House
• Vauxhall Cross
• Bletchley Park 
• Monument to SOE Agents
• The Old War Office Building
• The Admiralty Building
• Beaumanor Hall
• Battle of Arnhem / Operation Market Garden 
• The Khyber Pass 
• The Falklands Conflict  
• Abbottabad Raid / Operation Neptune Spear 
• Battle of Stalingrad 

*Wildcard Resource*

• The Battle of Gettysburg is perhaps one of the most well-known and most visited battlefields in the United States. 
• Take a virtual tour of this historic American site here – Tour guidance by Bob not included. 

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