Trustee & Founder
Lieutenant Commander | Royal Navy | 1972 – 1992
Trustee & Founder
(He/Him/His)
Patrick joined the Royal Navy in 1972, serving for 20 years as a professional seaman officer before resigning to look after his dying partner.
He served on active service in Northern Ireland, subsequently as a Principal Warfare Officer – including as the duty Operations Officer at Faslane during the Lockerbie tragedy – and latterly as the head of the tertiary stage of Junior Officers’ training.
Patrick then played a lead role in the campaign to lift the ban on LGBTQ+ people serving in the military, initially as Chair of Rank Outsiders and later as a co-founder of FWP. His first paid job after leaving the Navy was as the Terrence Higgins Trust’s first Health Promotion Officer for HIV positive people.
He has also worked as a restaurateur, as manager of several gay bars, in television at a senior level, as Peter Tatchell’s General Manager and more latterly with Veterans charities, particularly in the field of homelessness and housing.
Currently he is Head of Fundraising for the UK’s main Veterans housing charity, Haig Housing. His voluntary work spans nearly over 3 decades from working on the Residential Unit of London Lighthouse, as a director and then Vice-Chair of GMFA for 6 years, Director of Community Engagement for Pride in London for 5 years to now being a trustee for Wandsworth Oasis and the last original trustee of FWP. In addition to this role, Patrick is also member of the MOD Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
