How Jem is inspiring others to be the best
Stepping out of the tail ramp of the aircraft, hundreds of feet in the air, it should have been a standard practice drill for elite special forces soldier Jem Hills.
“Following the rest of my heavily kitted up, highly trained team, my world changed. At 800 feet you don’t think, you act, instinctively, accurately and fast.
“When my main chute failed I cursed – my training instinct kicked in ‘there’s a drill for this – do it NOW’ so I did. Then, to my horror my reserve chute failed to deploy – I didn’t curse!”
It left him tumbling towards the ground with no chance of escape - but miraculously Jem (58) is here to tell the tale.
The full details of what happened are uncovered in his inspiring, motivational talks as he travels the country helping organisations and their teams to unlock their potential and ‘be the best they can’.
It began through his partner Kim Penney’s work with aloe vera business Forever Living as they attended events hearing from different speakers.
Jem, who lives in Moulton with Kim, said: “I kept seeing these great speakers and thinking there is a story inside here,” he said, tapping his chest.
"I made head boy but still failed my 11 plus. My mental state was in a very poor way."
And despite a career in what is regarded as one of the toughest military forces in the world, life wasn’t always like that.
He was a victim of childhood bullying and his parents divorced when he was about six years old, which hit him hard.
“My mum sent me to Ayscoughfee School in Spalding. I made head boy but still failed my 11 plus. My mental state was in a very poor way.
“Then the day I started at the Gleed School I didn’t have many friends and I felt a tap on my shoulder. Looking for a new friend I turned around and was punched to the floor and told: “You’re not in a public school now.”
His self-esteem and self worth was at a real low and today Jem works with the Diana Award anti-bullying campaign which was set up in Princess Diana’s legacy.
It wasn’t until someone suggested he went along to the Spalding Youth Club (now The Umbrella) where he discovered Northern Soul and overcame his battles with his loss of self-belief.
He spent hours teaching himself the energetic dance moves to the music and became known as ‘Jem Hills, the Northern Soul dancer.’
“There was this mental feeling that I was good at something,” he said.
Then, while sitting in a geography class one day, his friend Paul Frith showed him a recruitment poster for the Royal Marines.
“It was of a group of guys on a beach, looking quite fit and it said ‘Royal Marines take a holiday’.
“At that time my career aspirations were not much but I wanted to be part of a team. I’d thought about perhaps joining the Navy because I liked sailing and thought I would sail around the world.
“I went to the Peterborough careers office and spoke to a man in a green beret about joining up and he said what do you want to do once you complete your training?
“I hadn’t thought about it so I said perhaps I could be one of those frogmen guys.
“He just looked at me like he thought ‘no chance mate.’ Someone like that can kill your dreams.”
“At that time my career aspirations were not much but I wanted to be part of a team. I’d thought about perhaps joining the Navy because I liked sailing and thought I would sail around the world."
But after 36 weeks of gruelling training he was awarded the coveted green beret, and formed life-long friendships.
After four years in the marines he went on to become the youngest member of the Specialist Boat Service (SBS) at age 21, at that time one of the world’s most elite and secretive special forces.
The specifics of the missions he undertook he cannot speak about due to military rules but it was a time that helped build him into who he is today.
He has also been a counter-terrorist expert and a company director, training thousands of people worldwide.
His story is one that shows anyone can overcome the odds and it’s a message he wants to pass on.
“I want to help develop teams and individuals to become ‘The Best Version of Themselves’,” he said.
For more about what Jem does go to his website at www.jemhills.com or email him via jem@jemhills.com
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