News

June 25th 2025

For her day job, she works as a Senior Technical Officer for Network Rail, working up and down the country fixing the railway’s essential drainage systems.

But for one evening a week and the odd weekend, Abi – better known as Sapper Theaker by her peers – trains as an Army Reservist at Chesterfield-based 350 Field Squadron, of 75 Engineer Regiment, the Royal Engineers.

In her seven years as a Reservist, she has tackled difficult engineering challenges with explosives and excavators and also enjoyed Soldiering, adventurous training and representative sport – all while being paid.

Abi, who is sharing her story to mark Reserves Day on 25 th June, said: “When you come off the weekend and get to Monday people will always ask ‘what have you been up to?’ I say I threw a practise grenade or detonated explosives – where else would you get the chance to
do this stuff?

“I love challenging myself and I like knowing I did something that has pushed me.”

Reserves Day

On Reserves Day, stories are shared and events held to help celebrate and raise awareness of this crucial part of our Armed Forces.

Reservists are people of all ages who train with the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, British Army or Royal Air Force alongside their day-to-day jobs.

Dubbed ‘twice the citizen’ by Winston Churchill, Reservists are paid to train in their spare time, combining part-time military commitments with their normal day-to-day life. The typical commitment is 27 days a year, spread across evenings, weekends and training weeks.

There are currently more than 32,000 Reservists in the UK, forming around 17% of the nation’s Armed Forces, and recruitment is ongoing.

Sapper Theaker’s first experience with the Reserves came in 2017, when she joined the University Officers’ Training Corps while studying civil engineering at Leeds University.

Wanting the best of both worlds – a civilian career and the opportunity for adventure in the Army – she joined the Royal Engineers in 2020, training out of Wallis Barracks, Chesterfield, where she remains to this day.

After completing a short course to top-up the Soldiering skills she had developed in the University Officers’ Training Corps, Sapper Theaker got a taste of what was to come as a Royal Engineer Reservist on her Combat Engineer Foundation Course in 2021.

Sapper Theaker, who lives in Wakefield, said: “We were on this massive training area with some PE8, which is like a white putty consistency, ball of plastic explosive.

“You mould it into various shaped explosive charges, connect it all in and sit in the safety bunker at the top of a hill, press the detonating button and then that’s it – boom. It was really good.”

As well as going on annual camps across the country to complete her yearly training requirements, she also capitalised on opportunities to train in unexploded ordnance search and clearance and gained licences to drive articulated lorries and vehicles with hazardous
goods on board.

These licences cost thousands of pounds in the civilian world whereas in the Army Reserves, Soldiers are paid to obtain them.

In April, Sapper Theaker learnt how to operate light and medium-wheeled tractors on her Royal Engineer Plant Intermediate Course, ready for potential real-life scenarios such as hiding military vehicles or creating mortar trenches.

She added: “I do like combat engineering because I like going into buildings, clearing them and putting defensive positions up. It’s a mixture of the infantry and engineering – the best of both worlds.

“But operating the plant makes you think a lot more, it’s more mentally challenging for me.”

Adrenaline-charged adventures

Sapper Theaker followed in her dad’s footsteps to join the military. Her father served in the Airborne Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers for 30 years and his fond memories and pride from service were big motivators for Sapper Theaker joining.

What has kept her coming back for more aren’t just the opportunities for adrenaline-charged adventures, but the variety of them too.

In between weekly training nights at Wallis Barracks and training weekends away, she also plays for the Army Reserves Women’s Football Team. Sapper Theaker said: “We play up and down the country and there are even chances to go to America or Europe too. Not only have I made brilliant friends – I’ve literally just come back from a player’s wedding – but I’ve been paid to play too.”

She added: “Being a Reservist with the Royal Engineers is like an all you can eat buffet. You can train in the field or with plant machinery or try scuba diving, mountain biking or parachuting.

“I always go for a full plate. You can’t just dip your toe in otherwise you don’t get to take full advantage of what the Reserves can offer, there are so many aspects to it.”

Warrant Officer Class 2 Carl Evans, of 350 Field Squadron, added: “With the Royal Engineers, you’re a Soldier first, an engineer second, and then a trade specialist. So you cover a lot.

“Some people don’t realise we get out there Soldiering. We live in the field and we can be attached to other units that require engineering expertise. Being a Royal Engineer just gets the grey matter going as a technical Soldier.

“So if you want to be a Soldier and build bridges, or look to gain a tactical advantage by destroying something with explosives, the Royal Engineers is for you.”

Search ‘Army Reserves’ to find out more about service commitments, benefits and your nearest unit.