Martyn’s Story

On my first tour of duty in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb tore my tank in two, killing my three crew members. Seeing that I was still alive, the Taliban fired rocket-propelled grenades at me. One of them hit the engine, showering me with flaming debris and setting me on fire. As I tried to escape the tank, I was shot twice in the right leg. The pain was indescribable. To make matters worse, a colleague saw me and, mistaking me for the enemy, was about to shoot. Luckily, he realised his mistake just in time and pulled me to safety, saving my life.

Back in the UK, I spent nearly four months in a coma with burns covering 75% of my face and body. I was on the brink of death, but after 500 hours of surgery and physiotherapy, I learned to walk again. However, I was left with severe scars.

I was officially discharged from the Army in 2014, and oddly enough, it was only then that everything I’d been through hit me hard. I suffered from PTSD and struggled to come to terms with what I’d lost. I still miss being part of the Army; fighting for Queen and country was all I’d ever wanted to do, and now, physically, I couldn’t do that anymore.

Fortunately, I discovered racing. It started with go-karts, then moved on to motor racing, and that really helped my mental health. It gave me a purpose, a sense of team spirit, an adrenaline rush — everything I missed from the Army.

I obviously have to live with the physical scars I have. But the real challenge was overcoming the mental impact of my injuries. That’s why for me, it’s nice to talk with anyone that’s gone through a similar situation. To meet new people through The Scar Free Foundation, and because I’m a bit further along, to speak with people who’ve been injured more recently, to share my experience, and tell them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

It is a long road, but ultimately it’s about getting on with life, and getting on with living; that’s what I’ve done, and that’s what I feel it is to be scar free.