Andy Fawkes (79) has recently joined the ranks of Old Churcherians who have authored published books which now adorn the shelves of the Old Churcherians' Library! Andy visited the school in December last year and has kindly donated a copy of his book, 'The Military Metaverse', which he co-authored with David Burden. We caught up with Andy to find out more about his life and times since leaving Churcher's College and how the book came into publication...

"I have many memories from my time at Churcher's between 1972 and 1979. I played hockey and cross country for the school and was part of the Combined Cadet Force in the Royal Navy branch. One particular highlight was being lucky enough to be on one of the Royal Navy warships that filled the Solent for the Silver Jubilee fleet review in 1977 – quite an experience for a teenager! I also learnt Morse Code at the now closed HMS Mercury, and had the rather less glamorous job of looking after the ropes in the rope store, which was housed in the old shooting gallery. Looking back now, those early experiences planted seeds that would eventually grow in ways I could never have imagined.

After leaving Churcher's, I studied Marine Engineering at University College London, later adding an MBA from Imperial College London. I became a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and gradually found my niche working at the intersection of defence, technology, and training. Over the past 25 years, I've worked with industry, academia, NATO, and the UK Ministry of Defence, focusing on how gaming, AI, and data can transform military training and simulation – fields that simply didn't exist when we were doing our drills in the CCF, although 'Space Invaders' had just appeared in local pubs!

My work has taken me in fascinating directions most of which I have not planned. I've led projects on everything from virtual reality to AI, and in 2019 served as Project Architect for the British Army's Virtual Reality in Land Training programme. Today, as a consultant, I co-chair a NATO training data study team and serve as Special Correspondent for Military Simulation & Training (MS&T) magazine.  I also run interviews for Chartered Engineers which is a great way to keep up to date.

The most unexpected twist came in 2025 when, completeIy out of the blue, I was asked to co-author 'The Military Metaverse' book with David Burden. After decades in the field, this opportunity was a wonderful reminder that careers can surprise you with new directions, even quite late in life! The book explores how emerging technologies are reshaping defence training, and I was delighted to recently donate a copy to Churcher's. I am still very much interested in my various lines of work and I feel fortunate for that.

These days I live in London and have two grown-up daughters, continuing to work as a consultant, speaker and writer in the defence technology sector. My experience has taught me to always strive to be kind to others and don't worry too much about your career as they normally take unexpected and enjoyable changes in direction."

If you are an OC who has written a book and would like to donate a copy to the Old Churcherians' Libary, we would love to hear from you.