A RESERVIST with The Royal Wessex Yeomanry at Old Sarum has completed initial training - on the same day that his father retired after more than 40 years in uniform.

Adam Paylor, 32, a reserve with the Royal Wessex Yeomanry enjoyed a very special double family celebration when he completed the first phase of basic training at Pirbright Barracks, Surrey.

By coincidence, it happened on the same day that his father, Major James Paylor, retired after 44 years’ army service in the Royal Artillery – 39 in the Regulars, then five as a reservist officer.

The Paylor family boast a phenomenal record of unbroken Army service because, by recently joining Salisbury-based B Squadron, The Royal Wessex Yeomanry, Trooper Paylor ensured the continuation of a proud heritage that goes back more than 150 years to his great-great-grandfather George.

When he is not in uniform, he is an outside broadcast technician with the BBC.

He said: “I can now enjoy the best of both worlds with an established civilian career and the chance to experience army life.

“I am particularly proud that while the modern role of the Royal Wessex Yeomanry is to train crew for the Challenger 2 main battle tank, I am still a cavalryman – the first in my family since my great-great-grandfather all those years ago.”