Penniless, divorced and AWOL from the British forces, Bill Parris volunteered for the French Foreign Legion in the early 1980s.

Unlike many British volunteers to the Legion, Bill did not desert. He endured a horrendous training regime and, despite a fear of heights (!) joined the elite Foreign Legion Parachute Regiment.

He discovered how women from all over the world flock to Corsica where the Legion is based - so his RandR was almost as exhausting as the jungle warfare school he was later sent to.