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Nicholls Lecture Series - Bernie Broad, Former Grenadier Guardsman and Captain of the GB Invictus Games Team.

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11 March 2019

The Sixth Form welcomed Bernie Broad, former Grenadier Guardsman and Captain of the Great British Invictus Games Team to talk to them as part of the Nicholls Lecture Series.  Read Upper Sixth student, Toby Brown's write up of the lecture.

By Toby Brown, Upper Sixth Student

Mr Broad, an ex-Grenadier Guardsman and captain of the Great British Invictus Games Team, came into School on Friday 1st March to talk to the Sixth Form as a part of the Nicholls Lecture Series. I know I can speak for the entire sixth form when I say that it was a great privilege to be able to hear about Mr Broad’s experiences, and listen to how passionately he spoke about the ethos of army life, and how that can be translated into our own school lives.

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Mr Broad briefly introduced the circumstances that lead to him choosing a career in the army, outlining a family history with the services and a long-lasting desire to serve Queen and country. He then continued to elaborate on how his training and early experiences in the army shaped him into the leader he became later on in life, urging the sixth form to not allow homesickness to get in the way of experiencing new situations. Mr Broad also talked of the circumstances under which his injuries occurred in Afghanistan, and spoke of his recovery process from the injuries, poignantly relaying the emotional strain both he and his family were under during the process. After he had made his recovery, following two individual below-knee amputations, Mr Broad talked about how the Invictus Games had benefited him and others in similar positions to him, instilling a sense of camaraderie between team members and allowing some ex-servicemen and women to return to a degree of normality competing in sports, as many would have done prior to their injuries.

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Finally, Mr Broad offered the sixth form an insight into the world of prosthetics and the different types of legs, that facilitate varying degrees of movement depending on what the specific activity requires. Having been prompted by a question from the audience, Mr Broad even spoke about the honour of attending Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, and talked of how down to earth the ceremony was, along with how much he and many other servicemen and women enjoyed the ceremony.

Right throughout the lecture, Mr Broad referred back to the ethos of army life; Integrity, Courage, Selflessness, Loyalty, Respect and Discipline. It was these values that Mr Broad said he aimed to live his life by, and found comfort in during the most difficult days of his recovery, going on to implore the sixth form to find our own ethos in life to live by, and stick to it. Also, during Mr Broad’s lecture there was an undercurrent of thankfulness to society for supporting charities who helped in his recovery from his injuries. However, the general consensus was that it is in fact we as society that should be most thankful for the sacrifices made by Bernie Broad and other servicemen and women around the globe, an acute reminder that we owe our safety to those who fight to protect society and the values we hold.

Again, I would like to stress what a genuine privilege it was to be able to listen to Mr Broad and I know I speak for the entirety of the 6th Form when I thank Bernie Broad for coming into school to talk to us.


The Nicholls Lecture Series provides Sixth Form students with thought-provoking lectures on a broad range of topics to introduce them to ideas, interests and experiences beyond the academic curriculum.