Tomorrow, June 17th, will see the debut of a presentation showing what the Royal Marine Reservists have to offer in a bid to educate and inform Grimbarians looking to join the armed forces.
The presentation is an “Initial Maritime Reserve Presentation” delivered by the Royal Marines Reserve, which can provide a chance for people with an interest in the Royal Marines or the reserve force to come and ask questions, chat with full-time and part-time marines, and see what the service has to offer.
The presentation will be given at the GRIMS Functional Fitness and Strength Centre located in Unit E12 of the Enterprise Village, Prince Albert Gardens, Grimsby, and will commence at 7:30 p.m.
Gi Grimsby News spoke with Sergeant Oli Coulbeck, who explained how he is a serving Royal Marine and how, after 19 years in the force, he is now taking a break from his ground combat role to help enlighten people as to the experiences of being in the Royal Marines.
He explained, “I’m a serving Royal Marine. Next month is my 19-year point. I did 17 years straight in a ground combat role, so last year I was sent to work with the Royal Marines Reserve as a bit of down time from a busy career. My current role is the Recruitment Sergeant for “RMR Merseyside”, which basically covers central and northern England, including Grimsby.”
“Every year since I finished my basic training, I have always gone back to The Grimsby Institute to give a ‘look at my life brief’ to the course I was a student on prior to joining the Marines, for no other reason than how 20 years ago I was sat in the same seat and not really sure with what I wanted to do with my life.
“Now I work in recruitment and cover Grimsby. This year, so far, I’ve done the Grimsby Institute, and I’m booked in for Park House School on Monday, Friday I’m visiting Welholme School, and at some point in the near future, I’m also doing Whitgift, which was my school. With fingers crossed, I’m doing something down Cleethorpes for Armed Forces weekend.”
Coulbeck has been tasked previously with bringing these presentations to people and has done so across major cities like Liverpool, Manchester, and Leeds. He won’t be alone when he delivers this presentation as the owner of the venue, GRIMS Functional Fitness and Strength Centre, Sando, is also a serving Royal Marine.
Oli said: “The presentation will be run from GRIMS Functional Fitness and Strength Centre, where the owner is a serving Royal Marine PTI, so not only have I got a free location to run the presentation, but should anyone wish to join the regular or Reservist Royal Marines, they can get use of the gym and up-to-date relevant and specific training with a serving RM PTI – I doubt anywhere in the country can offer that!
“Further to this, I have 2 RMR ranks from Grimsby who will be helping out and who can talk about their lived experience of joining the Reserves from Grimsby, and I have one of our current recruits coming down; although he’s not from Grimsby, he’s from down the road near Market Rasen.”
With nearly two decades of experience in the marines, he hopes to show the people of Grimsby what the Royal Marine Reserve can offer people, such as “spare income, life skills, travel opportunities, but also something productive to do in their spare time.”
Oli explained, “My main priority is to give people within the town an opportunity they wouldn’t normally get. This is the only Royal Marines Reserve IMRP ever to be held in Grimsby. I hope to raise awareness about the reserves and what the reserve can offer people.
“I go around every individual and ask about their lives, age, employment, and whether their family or employment are supportive of their interest in the Reserves. I then tell them about my career within the Royal Marines, as I’ve had a great time and I’ve done just shy of 2,000 days in 40 countries. I tell them the good points and the bad points, as it’s no secret that I was injured twice in Afghanistan, and then I’ll get the reservists and the recruit to give their spin on it, and let Sando [Owner of GRIMS] say what he can offer.”
Oli said that his ambition was to link Grimsby and the Royal Marines together through the use of this presentation, helping both in the process.
He said that anyone interested should come along, saying, “When I joined up, I didn’t really know what I was joining; I very nearly joined the RAF but chose not to as some of my friends joined the Marines also. We will give up-to-date, impartial advice and tell people where to go from here. It’s free to attend, and everyone who attends will learn something.”
Those looking to attend can do so by booking a ticket through the following link before attending: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/royal-marines-reserve-initial-maritime-resverve-presentation-grimsby-tickets-909962401037
(Image: Royal Marines / X)
