University of Westminster Diploma in German, fluent French
Luke was a serving officer in the Royal Armoured Corps (RAC) of the Army for 35 years. He was stationed in Germany as part of the British Army of the Rhine during the Cold War. Luke saw service in Cyprus, UK and Northern Ireland during this period. He was responsible for the career management, welfare and reporting on his soldiers. He also participated on promotion boards, Boards of Inquiry and Courts Martial and subsequently became staff qualified.
His final tour at Regimental Duty was in the capacity of Regimental Second-in-Command, The Royal Dragoon Guards, responsible for the audit and management of the Regimental accounts. He was then selected as a French speaker to join the UK delegation to NATO HQ in Brussels in support of the UK Presidency of the Western European Union. Luke was responsible for managing working groups and sub-committees.
Luke returned to military training for two years taking up an appointment as an exchange officer with the US Army at Fort Knox. He was responsible for instruction and training of US Army officers before returning to the International Planning Cell at the Western European Union, Brussels, to develop procedures for cooperation between NATO and the EU / WEU. Luke then went to the German Armour School as the British Liaison Officer. His last appointment was at the NATO strategic headquarters, SHAPE as part of the team responsible for the collective training for military headquarters assigned to NATO.
Following his military service Luke qualified as a language teacher, joined the German Federal Office of Languages before returning to the UK and as a freelance tutor running courses for military and civilian personnel.
