Colonel Bob Stewart DSO MP was the special guest speaker at Crawley Conservatives fund-raising dinner on 27th February at The Arora Hotel, Crawley. This well-attended event raised funds to support vital General Election campaigning, and the return of Crawley's excellent MP Henry Smith. Colonel Bob Stewart DSO MP held his audience with a tour de force speech focussing on his military and political career, and the values that have driven both.
Bob was an Army officer for a total of 28 years. In total he completed seven tours of Northern Ireland during the troubles; serving there at various times as a Platoon Commander, Intelligence Officer, Company Commander, and finally Commanding Officer. He was the incident commander at the scene of the Ballykelly bomb in 1982 where 17 people were killed including 6 soldiers from his own company. In 1992 Bob took his Battalion to Bosnia as first United Nations Commander of British Forces there. On returning from the Balkans he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Bob left the Army in January 1996 and worked in business and for himself until he was elected to Parliament in 2010.
In Parliament Bob has been a member of the House of Commons Defence Committee and the Committees on Arms Control since he was elected. He is also Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Army..