Britain’s top diplomat in Estonia has swapped his suit for combat fatigues as he becomes the first ambassador to join the reserves in recent history, The Times can disclose.
Ross Allen, 46, underwent basic training at RAF Brize Norton this week with 15 other reservist air recruits who have signed up to serve their country as the threat from Russia intensifies.
If he passes the series of courses, Allen will become Pilot Officer Allen, the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and equivalent to a second lieutenant in the army.
Allen with Kaja Kallas, then the Estonian prime minister, on an RAF Chinook
The married father of three, who can speak Arabic and conducts his interviews in the Baltic state in Estonian, was too old to join the army or the Royal Navy.
He was inspired to join the RAF by Typhoon fighter pilots and engineers and the Chinook helicopter aircrew he has met during his four-year tenure in Estonia on Nato’s eastern flank. Typhoon aircraft have rotated in and out of Estonia as part of Nato’s air-policing mission to ensure the skies are protected. Hundreds of British troops are stationed in Estonia at any one time, ready to defend the country.
When asked whether he was ready to fight and die for his country, Allen said: “Yes, I understood I had to be ready to do that when I made the decision to join.”
Allen joined the cadets at the age of 12 and three of his grandparents served in the Second World War.
Allen during his military training
CPL HARRIS/UK MOD CROWN COPYRIGHT
He has been stationed in Estonia since 2021, during the course of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.
He said one of his main reasons for joining the reserves was to contribute to the overall defence effort by freeing up a regular member of the RAF so they could focus on other tasks.
Allen said a lot of his Estonian friends, including teachers and chief executives, had joined the Estonian reservists when the war in Ukraine started, which had inspired him.
He said it was “quite appealing” joining at the most junior level. He added: “In my day job, I have plenty of responsibility, but I quite like the idea of being a pilot officer. I am perfectly happy being under other people’s command.” In this ambassador role, Allen is the equivalent in rank to an Air Commodore.
The fitness tests may be fairly easy: in the winter months he puts on studded shoes and runs in minus 15C through the forest just for fun. Sometimes his wife, Suzie, joins him. This summer he took part in a ten-mile loaded march with British troops.
Allen with his wife, Suzie Harrison
He will eventually join the RAF as a media officer in 7644 Squadron, which deploys around the world planning and delivering media operations.
He has to undergo fitness tests as well as weapons-handling training. In addition to learning how to shoot, he will be taught how to respond to attacks with chemical or biological weapons. The tests he has to pass take his age into account and are not quite as rigorous as those undertaken by a recruit in their twenties.
In Ukraine, conscription is in place for those for those aged between 25 and 60.
Asked why he joined, he said: “In the back of my mind is the geopolitical situation. You can’t live in Estonia and not have a sense of the fact there has been a higher level of threat over recent years. But my primary reason was being inspired by people I met and thinking, how do I contribute?”
He said that although it was a “remote” chance he would have to fight, given the role he was going into there was still a possibility. “I’m ready for that,” he said.
As ambassador, Allen has hosted prime ministers and royalty in Estonia during a particularly turbulent time. Ministry of Defence and Foreign Office sources were not aware of any other ambassador to have joined the reserves in recent times.
Allen, second right, at RAF Brize Norton
CPL HARRIS/UK MOD CROWN COPYRIGHT
Allen said the Foreign Office was a “pro reserves” organisation that would enable him to fulfil his role while remaining as ambassador until next summer.
Ministers are trying to persuade more Britons to join the reserves after rising tensions and difficulties in persuading serving troops to stay in the armed forces.
John Healey, the defence secretary, has made it a key priority to improve housing for armed forces families in the hope it may help to solve the crisis.
He has an ambition to increase the overall size of the armed forces to meet growing demands in the face of an aggressive Russia and conflict in the Middle East.