January 1st 2019
When I left Moulsford in 1992, I went on to Grammar School and then immediately joined the Army, my life long ambition. Just two days into training the Twin Towers were destroyed by terrorists and in 2005 I was deployed on my first Iraq tour. A further two tours of Iraq followed and then in 2009 at the height of the bloody conflict in Afghanistan I was deployed to Helmand Province as a Captain. Following a prolonged firefight in the desert my vehicle was struck by an IED (bomb) and I sustained major injuries to my feet and my left arm.
My recovery was slow due to infection and after 10 months my left leg was amputated below the knee, for me this was a welcome relief from the pain and a huge boost to my morale and mobility. Together with some other injured soldiers we set up Race2Recovery, a team established to conquer the hardest rally in the world… the 9,000km Dakar Rally in South America. The race had never been attempted by anyone with disabilities and so when our team conquered it using our motto of “Beyond Injury, Achieving the Extraordinary” we had proved to ourselves, our families and the world that although our bodies had been broken our spirit had not.
Since then I have represented the British Armed Forces at Prince Harry’s Invictus Games winning a gold medal as part of the Sitting Volleyball team, I have climbed 4,000m mountains and pushed myself to the extreme. In order to spend more time supporting my family, I am now a partner at an award winning Leadership and Development company where we bring the practical lessons we have learnt leading teams in arduous environments to the corporate world.
To me, Moulsford gave me the most important aspect of my personality and character, my values. This school taught me to have courage even when the situation was dire, it taught me to have integrity and to selflessly commit to whatever I am doing to ensure the result is the best possible outcome. There are no “what if’s” in life and Moulsford was a fantastic start to a turbulent but enjoyable life.
Former Infantry Officer, Invictus Games Gold Medallist and Dakar Rally Driver
