By

'To my horror, children began running towards us in their droves. Every other boy or girl seemed to possess some kind of war trophy: RPG rocket heads, startling arrays of anti-personnel mines, AK-47 assault rifle bayonets and assortments of ammunition. This sight was terrifying, mainly because they were unaware of all the dangers around them. And I knew exactly what they were.'

'Arriving at Millbay docks, I clambered aboard the awaiting LCU. Once it had been loaded to capacity, the vessel slowly crept into Plymouth Sound. I could clearly see the floating structure of HMS Intrepid drawing nearer and nearer.

I couldn't believe I was getting the chance to go aboard this famous Commando assault ship. A few years earlier her sister ship, "HMS Fearless" had demonstrated how vital she was during the Falklands campaign.

HMS Intrepid was now going to be my home for the coming months, with our final destination being Oman in the Middle East. '

'Shining my torch into the bushes about 20 feet from the road, which was adjacent to an estate, I suddenly became aware of a man lying on the ground as if he had fallen over. As I approached him, I noticed that the grass I was walking across felt wet under foot. Thinking this was rather odd due to the lack of recent rain, I shone the torch at my feet.

To my horror, I immediately realised that it wasn’t water but blood! '