Stephen, Shane and Mark Wilson all serve with The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment (1 LANCS). The regiment deployed as a Battlegroup to the Baltic nation along with thousands of other British Army troops for Exercise Hedgehog.
The multinational exercise, which ran from 9 to 24 May, involved 17,000 troops from 12 nations and had two aims. Firstly, to test the ability of the Estonian armed forces to respond to potential attack by Russia and, secondly, to practise the rapid and large-scale deployment of allied forces to Estonia.
This is not the first time the three Wilson brothers have deployed together. Between 2009 and 2011, the brothers did three separate tours of Afghanistan under Operation Herrick.
The military is deep-rooted within the wider family, whether it’s been the infantry, the artillery or even the catering corps where our uncles served
CAPTAIN SHANE WILSON, 1ST BATTALION THE DUKE OF LANCASTER’S REGIMENT
Mark and Shane also deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Telic 2 in 2003 with their dad, Gary.
The trio are the third generation of their family to fight in the infantry, with their father, and grandfather both serving in antecedent regiments of The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
Sergeant Stephen Wilson, 38, attended Buile Hill secondary school in Salford and worked in a shop at The Trafford Centre for a year before deciding to join the army. He said:
“It’s always good to have a family face around when you need one. There have been so many highlights of my 21 years in the army but the one that stands out is promoting from Kingsman to Lance Corporal then up to Corporal and then to Sergeant.
“One of the hardest things about being in the army is being away from family members when coming away on exercises like this.”
Stephen is married to April and has four children, one boy and three girls.
The Wilson brothers are among thousands of British troops that travelled from the UK to Estonia by road, rail, sea and air in less than 48 hours. The mass transit of troops demonstrated the British Army’s ability to rapidly deploy a large-scale force to support a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) ally that borders Russia.
Stephen says:
“We took a coach from our base at Weeton Barracks in Preston down to Dover, we then boarded a ferry to Calais and we then got a coach to Sennelager in Germany where we had a stopover. We then flew from Paderborn into Tallinn and then we continued the journey by coach to get to the camp we are currently in.
“We are here to reassure the Estonian people that, as part of NATO, we are here to help them and deter Russia. As part of the NATO community, which is a multinational force, people will know that if the worst was to happen, we would be here within hours to help them.”
Captain Shane Wilson, 41, said:
“It was an easy decision for us all to make to join the military because both our parents and grandparents served in the preceding regiments that formed The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment of today. The military is deep-rooted within the wider family, whether it’s been the infantry, the artillery or even the catering corps where our uncles served.”
Captain Mark Wilson, 43, said:
“This is the first time in 14 years that we have all been together. Our paths crossed a lot in the first three or four years but then we were all promoted at different times and spread to different places. Then about a year ago, on 1 LANCS’s return from Cyprus, Shane commissioned and came in as the training officer and Steven had finished his time at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick as a platoon sergeant and came back.”
Although all three brothers are from Salford, Mark now lives in Chester, Shane lives in Ellesmere Port while Stephen lives in Preston.
Mark added,
“When you deploy overseas for lengthy periods it’s a lot easier knowing that you’ve got some of your direct family with you.”
One of the hardest things about being in the army is being away from family members when coming away on exercises like this.
SERGEANT STEPHEN WILSON, 1 LANCS
The brothers’ regiment, 1 LANCS, formed a Battlegroup in the Nursipalu training area in south-east Estonia where they have carried out urban and woodland combat training.
They built trenches in the Estonian forest, along the same lines as those dug by soldiers in Ukraine to defend against Russia’s invasion. The trenches in Estonia were designed to help the 1 LANCS troops hold their position as soldiers from other NATO nations simulated an attack using drones with simulated pyrotechnic munitions, blank ammunition, simulation grenades and flares.
Exercise Hedgehog serves as a Forward Land Force (FLF) mission rehearsal, providing the opportunity for the FLF and allies and partner nations from across NATO to deploy to Estonia.
The British Army’s 4th Light Brigade Combat Team, also known as ‘The Black Rats’, led the deployment.
