A YOUNG soldier has had one of the most enviable seats in the country after volunteering at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships.

Drummer William Fletcher, 24, from Adderbury, has been a Military Service Steward for the past two weeks.

Along with 334 others fulfilling the role, Mr Fletcher has been manning the gangways, helping visitors to their seats and ensuring they are comfortable.

Mr Fletcher said: “It’s great interacting with the public when you’re working on the gangways, when people are coming in in the mornings.

“Everyone is pretty intense watching some of the matches, especially when we get big names on. Every seat is full; it’s very atmospheric in there.

“We had Caroline Wozniacki, Venus Williams and Pablo Cuevas. He had a big tantrum yesterday.”

Mr Fletcher went to Bloxham School and has been a reservist for five years.

He is studying for a PhD at King’s College London in the Defence Studies Department.

He has also performed public guard duties alongside the Grenadier Guards at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.

For the past two weeks at SW19, he has been working with one of eight teams present on every show court, including Centre Court, where the Royal Box requires 50 stewards to look after the members’ area, corridors and changing rooms.

Mr Fletcher said: “A lot of people don’t understand military stuff, so they’re always quite interested in what we do, and particularly the reserves part of it.

“I enjoy the camaraderie of the army, navy and RAF, and getting to know the different services.”

The tradition of the British Army providing soldiers to act as volunteers to Wimbledon dates back to 1946.

Positions are evenly split between members of the three armed services. They must have their chain of command’s authority to attend and be fully fit, as the job requires standing for long periods of time in military uniform.

Mr Fletcher added: “Being a PhD student, I have to take two weeks out of doing my PhD to volunteer. But it does work for me and I’d definitely do it again.”