Tony Thompson has a lifetime experience in disaster planning and response gained through service in the UK armed forces, police, Civil Service, British Red Cross and in the private sector. He is a former Chair of the Emergency Planning Society and currently Director of OTHO UK which provides consultancy and training in emergency preparedness. He is a member of the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee for South West England (a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence), and a Fellow of the Institute of Civil Protection and Emergency Management. He is the Chair of the Avon and Somerset Branch of the International Police Association and a Trooper in the Light Cavalry – a ceremonial sub-unit of the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) which is the oldest regiment in the British Army. The HAC dates back to 1537 and the reign of King Henry VIII who granted the HAC a Royal Charter.