Tim Collins

About

Tim is a former officer in the British Army. He is best known for his role in the Iraq War in 2003, and his inspirational eve-of-battle speech, a copy of which apparently hung in the White House’s Oval Office.

After graduating from university, Collins was accepted into the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, from where he was commissioned into the Royal Signals as a second lieutenant on a short service commission on 2 October 1981

Tim Collins (Colonel Timothy Thomas Cyril Collins OBE) has served in Germany, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar, as well as completing two tours of duty in Northern Ireland, the first in south Armagh and the second in east Tyrone. He passed selection into the Special Air Service in 1988 and went on to serve two operational tours with the regiment as a troop commander and as operations officer and one tour at HQ Special Forces in Duke of York Barracks, London.

As Lieutenant Colonel (Commanding Officer) of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment of the British Army, Collins gave a rousing eve-of-battle speech to his troops in Kuwait on Wednesday 19 March 2003. The speech was extemporised, and was recorded in shorthand by a single journalist, Sarah Oliver. The last episode of the 2008 television series 10 Days to War features a version of the speech performed by Kenneth Branagh as Collins.

On 31 October 2003 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for his service in Iraq.

Collins has set up the Peace Support College in Sarajevo and is also a signatory of the founding statement of principles of the Henry Jackson Society, which advocates a pro-active approach to the spread of liberal democracy through the world.

He is currently CEO (and co-founder) of intelligence-based security services company New Century.

Tim illustrates a gruelling journey of bravery, strength, leadership and skill where every decision made during his time in Iraq could have been his last.