Rob Ewen MBE

A former Royal Marine who's never happier than when out on the moor....

Former Royal Marine Rob Ewen, who lives in Okehampton, is a real outdoors man. It’s not surprising really after completing 25 years with the Corps, before serving another 17 years as the South West’s recruitment manager for the naval services.

It was for this role and his work with youth groups that he was honoured with an MBE in 2010,  presented to him at Buckingham Palace by Princess Anne.

‘It was a total surprise when I got this official looking letter from Buckingham Palace.  It was a real honour and it really amazed me at the ceremony. I don’t know how many of us were invested that day but she spent time with everyone and the knowledge she had about me was incredible. She knew about Okehampton, about my work with the Duke of Edinburgh awards to the extent that at one point I really thought she must be wired up to know so much! It was a really special day.'

Rob’s experience as a mountain leader and his love of climbing, walking and exploring has spilled into his life away from work too, having committed thousands of hours to voluntary work in the Okehampton area. His two daughters joined the Brownies, the ATC, the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) award scheme. Rob stepped up to help these various organisations; ‘so many parents use these things like creches but as I watched people making sure things worked properly I felt I ought to be doing my bit. The girls also swam, so I ended up being chairman of the Otters swimming club for three years. They also did DofE so I got collared for that too. I also got asked to join the governors at Okehampton College and then I ended up assisting training Ten Tors teams via the school as well.’

Rob is also a huge rugby fan and he was honoured to serve as president of Okehampton RFC for two years and is still a club vice president. He is also the national chairman of the Royal Marines Association RFC, organising fundraising events and games each year.

He also loves to ski and will even take to the hills above Okehampton on his cross-country skis whenever the weather allows - as he says whistfully; ’I could do with a really bad winter!'

But it is the DofE awards that he is particularly involved in now - preparing the teams for the expedition section of their challenges, which sees them plan and train for a two, three or four day trek, depending on which level award they are attempting. The gold qualifying expeditions often take place in the Lake District or even further afield, but having Dartmoor on the doorstep provides the ideal training ground.

’It’s all about getting the team gelling, learning about themselves, that’s what I like - I love to teach the youngsters the skills that they can build on in the future, whether they walk on Dartmoor, go to the Alps or other high mountain regions.’

This year Bob and his fellow supervisors have 55 youngsters attempting their Silver Award. Within the expedition section, the participants will undertake a planned activity and their walk will probably be around 45 kilometres in terms of distance, spread over three days. They will carry their tents, equipment and all supplies with them. The teams undertake the challenge alone and no mobile phones are allowed, although the trainers are aware of where they should be at certain times and would take action if unexpected weather conditions became dangerous. ‘We try to keep them isolated so they really have to think about what they are doing. It’s a balance between staying safe and not being on top of them. It takes a lot of planning and training.’

‘It’s great to be able to pass on the knowledge I learnt as a Royal Marine, and to see young people getting the enjoyment of being outdoors. Seeing their faces when they finish their expedition - when they are quite rightly very proud of what they have achieved, and knowing you have helped them get to this point from scratch, is really rewarding.’

Jane Honey