General Sir Adrian Bradshaw, KCB OBE DL, drew a colourful parade of around 300 guests to his talk at The Wren Chapel at Royal Hospital on 26th March.

The stellar attendance helped raise more than £10,000 for the Chelsea and Kensington branch of the NSPCC. Organisers – led by branch President Lavinia Wallop and Chair Jane Gordon – were delighted by the turnout and by such generous support for the charity.

Sir Adrian’s speech was focused on the ‘current defence and security challenges for NATO and the UK‘. As former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander (Europe) for NATO, Sir Adrian was certainly in prime position to give his audience a riveting insight into the myriad of security problems facing the world.

However, one shocking piece of lethal ordinance faced our intrepid Citizen reporter at the out-set when Sir Adrian invoked “Chatham House Rules” at the start of his 45-minute speech. Pen down and notebook away, which is certainly a frustrating situation during what would emerge as a fascinating and quietly revealing talk.

Mrs Gordon explained later: ‘Chatham House Rules are an important protection and need to be observed if our guest speakers are to feel free to express themselves.’

We respectfully adhere to the omertà, but can faithfully report that Sir Adrian provided some keen observations on the risks facing the world from hostile governments in Iran, North Korea, China and Russia. He also paid close attention to the plight of Ukraine and the current negotiations for a ceasefire.

During a walkabout Q&A with the audience following the speech, Sir Adrian was challenged by one guest to give his view on whether President Donald Trump is actually “a Russian asset known as Krasnov“. This loaded question drew a volley of chuckles from the pews.

Sir Adrian was diplomatic in his reply, although it might not be remiss to report that he closed out his reply by cryptically adding…

Oh no, this cannot be repeated!

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