Background
Ashby was brought up in Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland, the son of a Royal Navy officer based at HMNB Clyde, and educated at Glenalmond College on a scholarship.
Ashby was brought up in Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland, the son of a Royal Navy officer based at HMNB Clyde, and educated at Glenalmond College on a scholarship.
Pembroke College.
While in school he started rock climbing. Ashby joined the Royal Marines and was commissioned a week shy of his eighteenth birthday. He read engineering at Pembroke College, Cambridge on an armed forces bursary.
Later on in his career he trained as a mountain leader and was also a jungle warfare instructor.
Sierra Leone In January 2000, Ashby was deployed to Sierra Leone as a military observer with the United Nations peacekeeping forces stationed there, tasked with disarming the rebel fighters from the Revolutionary United Front led by Augustine Gbao. However, the situation became hostile and the house where Ashby and two fellow British officers and a New Zealander officer were captured and held hostage.
Eventually a decision was taken to escape through the jungle. Fighting dehydration and hunger, the four men survived close encounters with the enemy and, assisted by local tribesmen, were eventually rescued by the British Army.
The story of his escape is narrated in one episode of the documentary series Banged Up Abroad.
After a narrow escape, they sought refuge at the Kenyan army outpost where they helped defend the camp against several days of attacks.