Sam Jones goes into action with the Army at Strensall barracks today
An eight-year-old boy with leukaemia was today enjoying a extra special birthday treat as the Army in York and North Yorkshire made his lifetime dream come true.
Military-mad youngster Sam Jones was being given a VIP whistle-stop tour of soldiering after the Army's 34 Field Hospital, based at Strensall, responded to a call from the charity Starlight Foundation, which helps grant wishes for sick children.
The plucky youngster was racing through the ranks, from Private to Sergeant Major, today, while getting to grips with some of the tools of the trade.
He was kitted out in camouflage before a light tank from York's Queens Own Yeomanry, picked him up from the Post House Hotel, in Tadcaster Road, and took him to the barracks at Strensall.
A helicopter from 9 Army Air Corps then flew him to Catterick Garrison where members of the Queens Dragoon Guards took him for an off-road spin in a variety of armoured vehicles.
Back at Strensall, Sam, from Cambridge, went into battle with Army medics before firing small arms on a simulator.
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