Another Mans Shoes
Interviews with fellow military veterans and adventurers about their experiences of war, the lows and times of hardship, joining them on their journey and how this has shaped their lives in the most extraordinary way. Comedy moments, dark humour and witty banter.
Another Mans Shoes
Martyn Compton - Born Survivor - S1E4
Ever wondered how sheer resilience and an unyielding spirit can transform life's darkest moments into a beacon of hope? Meet Martyn Compton, a former Household Cavalry soldier whose life story is an incredible testimony to the power of perseverance. From a tumultuous childhood in Exeter and Florida to joining the army in a bid to turn his life around, Martyn's journey is filled with gripping tales of bravery and camaraderie.
Experience the harsh realities of military life in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as Martin recounts his time inside Spartan tanks, navigating minefields, and facing relentless rocket-propelled grenade attacks. His harrowing survival of an ambush , where he sustained severe injuries yet managed to fight back, showcases the extraordinary bravery and support within the military brotherhood. Martin's emotional recollection of losing comrades and being evacuated underscores the profound sacrifices soldiers make.
Witness Martin's astonishing recovery, from battling severe injuries and PTSD to discovering a new passion that reignited his zest for life: car racing. Join us as we uncover his involvement with Stand To Motorsport, a team of veterans aiming to compete in the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours. Through motor racing and adventurous expeditions, Martin's story highlights the importance of community support and finding new purposes after trauma. This episode is a moving tribute to the indomitable human spirit and the relentless pursuit of one's passions.
Please visit the Podcasts app and leave a review or rating, this really helps get out show noticed. Thank you.
Welcome to another episode of Another Man's Shoes. On today's journey, we are joined by Martin Compton, former member of the Household Cavalry, severely injured after being blown up in Afghanistan, suffering 75% third-degree burns to his body Whilst under attack. Burnt, he was shot, severely injured and still managed to return fire hitting the enemy. Since leaving, he's gone through a tremendous recovery period and become an accomplished author, racing driver, father and loving husband. What you're going to hear tonight is an exceptional story from one of the most inspirational men I've ever met. So, Martin, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Thank, you so we've ever met. So, martin, welcome to the show. Thank you.
Speaker 1:So we've called you on the show. It's called Another Man's Shoes and you've got one hell of a journey that you're going to tell everyone about. And we've known each other now for a few years. We've been out and you don't talk about things too much, but I'm pleased that you've come on. You can sort of maybe explain a bit more about where you've been. So, as always, we sort of start off about where you were born, what you did as a kid, what were you like. So just tell us a bit about where you're from and give us a bit of the backstory.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was born in Exeter. I'm from an early age. I moved out to Florida after losing my mother at a young age. So me and my dad moved out to Florida, lived there and went through kindergarten and about seven, eight, dad decided UK was our home turf. So we came back and sort of took root in Kent, a place called Stapler's, which is where I was brought up from sort of A onwards really. At that point obviously I had to try and fit in again, meet new friends and kind of went from there. Really the guys that I hung around with through school were my best mates until 16 when I decided to join the army, just through kind of trying to get out of trouble. I was one of those kids that always the first one to do something and try it out and sometimes got caught quite often didn't?
Speaker 2:we used to be pretty good at running away so the easier option was to join the army, much to my old man's dislike at the time.
Speaker 1:Well, we'll touch on that in a minute. So I never knew you went to. You lived in Florida, so what was that like as a kid living out there?
Speaker 2:I absolutely loved it. It was obviously completely different to Exeter, yeah, completely different lifestyle, and, as I say, I was only young, but kindergarten was definitely a good way to be growing up so Disney at the weekends pretty much next door to it. So at that point I was kind of sick of it that's amazing.
Speaker 1:And so then you sort of came home. Obviously. How did you do at school? Were you academic or were you sort of came home? How did you do at school? Were you academic or were you more of a rebel?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, was a bad middle of the road. Yeah, always, quite often in trouble, a bit of a joker Done all right at school and that was probably about it. Enough to write home about.
Speaker 1:But then that's why you joined the military, I suppose, to sort of get away from it.
Speaker 2:Exactly that, yeah.
Speaker 1:So how did that work you? Away from it and exactly that, yeah. So how did that work you?
Speaker 2:you sort of went down to the careers office and said, right, I want to, I want to be a soldier. Yeah, literally, I just decided that there was no work around the area. I thought, right, I'm gonna go and, uh, see what the sketch is all about. I went down to chatham, uh, to the army careers. Um, he went. Yeah, you can do your barbed test if you want, right now. I was like, oh okay, and that was kind of me committed there, and then so did you decide what regiment you wanted to be then?
Speaker 2:Yeah, at that point I you do your barbed test, obviously, and kind of let you know whether you're a picker's fight and you need to dig holes or you've got something about you. And at that point I kind of did have something about me. So, uh, remy was one of my options and I decided to go down the remy route so the remy?
Speaker 1:if anyone's listening, they're the mechanical engineers, so they're the guys that fix the vehicles. And what have you when the rest of us go out and break them?
Speaker 2:that's it. Yeah, I always thought I quite like messing about with cars a bit a lot, even now. So I thought Remy Spandering kind of goes together.
Speaker 1:I'll give that a crack and see where it goes so you do your barb test, which is the entrance test, isn't it what used to be? I don't think you do that anymore. Yeah, it's like they ask you a number of questions. A bit of mass, bit of english used to have that. Look, it's like a computer game, wasn't it? You had to. They show you where. It's like the cannonball that fires. You have to guess the trajectory of it and where it lands.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you're really good, and you've got your crayons left then you're not infantry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, if you're really good and you've got your crayons left then you're not infantry, yeah, and so you decided to join the Ream Ego, do your basic training. Yeah, it went to phase one where you basically get thrashed and become a soldier, and it was the old days where they used to be out of the frasher properly. Yeah, not that I'm that old, not as old as you.
Speaker 1:We had windows and bedding yeah, it was hard when we joined the Roman army, but then you didn't. You didn't stay in the room or you didn't. You transferred across to a different region.
Speaker 2:no, so I got yeah, I got to phase two, and phase two is where you then learn your next phase of where you want to go in life in the army. So obviously my next phase was the Spannering course. I forget the actual name, but Spannering course.
Speaker 1:Changing wheelhouse.
Speaker 2:That's it. Yeah, and at that point there were so many lads trying to go through the same sort of course that there was a backlog. So we had this. I forget what the platoon was called, but basically something. It was like a waiting holding platoon where you go on some sort of different courses bit of canoeing, rock climbing here and there and all that sort of stuff, which is great up until a point where you actually want to get on and get out into the real world in the army. But at that point I was there for too long and too many options came open and I started speaking to a guy that was a lifeguard in the House of Cavalry and that sounded all rosy. So transfer went in and I joined the House of Cavalry and that sounded all rosy. So transfer went in and I joined the House of Cavalry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so this is where a lot of people get confused. I mean, most people think, all right, you join the army, you get a gun, you're a private and that's it. But then you're called lifeguards, household cavalry, and you get all these obscure ranks and it gets me. I don't understand. So the lifeguards is that the regiment or is that the rank? What's the lifeguards?
Speaker 2:So the regiment is the household cavalry. It's then split into the Blues and Royals and the lifeguards. It amalgamated several years back so it's now one regiment. They used to be very much split. The only difference now is Lifeguards wear red kit ceremonial and the Blues wear blue kit when they're selling the horses. So it's mainly ceremonial duty where it's any different.
Speaker 1:So basically the household cavalry are the guys at Buckingham Palace and outside. Horse guards parade sort of sat there with polished boots, yeah.
Speaker 2:So did you go down with them? We have the ceremonial side. No, I was never interested in cleaning the kit so much. It is mainly very old school kit, so much it's it is mainly it's very old school, it's um, it's now they. They go into the um ceremonial before joining the regiment just because it is very old school. It's very, um, strict kind of rank structure, completely different actual soldiering when you get to the regiment okay, so when?
Speaker 1:I say actual soldiering, I mean like in the creams, you know yeah, yeah, because I imagine that only it doesn't appeal to everyone, sort of sitting around on a horse and cleaning your kit with a lot of the bullshit that probably goes with it. It's uh, yeah, it's probably only for a select few.
Speaker 2:I mean pretty good though, for picking up women, I imagine yeah, it's great when you're a young lad, which is why a lot of them go that way. It's mainly for my sort of area, is mainly for going out there for promotion.
Speaker 1:Okay. So then where did you go? So you finished your training, you sort of transferred regiments, you've joined the cavalry. What did you do then? You go to Bovington, do your sort of tanks and all that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I went straight to bobby learned how to drive. I was only a young lad at that point. I could literally just about drive a car, and that was flat out everywhere. So I had to learn to slow down and get in a tank and drive one of them at speed that's not bad, is it what you're 18, 19 years old getting to?
Speaker 1:you're cutting around driving a tank. Yeah, it's pretty cool yeah, pretty cool.
Speaker 2:You'd definitely get out of the way of people with airplates on on a tank so where did you go after that?
Speaker 1:so, when you finished all your training, where was your first unit?
Speaker 2:so that's the other thing with the house recovery, which is kind of the appealing thing, that you don stay in Windsor at the time. They've now moved, but it was literally at Windsor and then you go on tour from there as a regiment or as a each sort of section, you know.
Speaker 1:That's good. So, yeah, you all stayed together as a group because in our regiment you used to we would just move around individually. So we'd do three years in one place and then, on our own, we'd just sort of move off to somewhere else and go to the other side of the world. So you're constantly having to sort of make new friends, reacquaint with each other, learn how each other works.
Speaker 2:It's much better if you can stay as a person it's great when you're young, but if you've got a family as well, yeah it's not ideal so what point is this then?
Speaker 1:you're one of the, so when did you join? What year I?
Speaker 2:joined in 2000.
Speaker 1:Oh, 2000. So you go through the training, you're coming through that. So where was your first tour? Then Was Iraq your first operation.
Speaker 2:No, my first tour was Afghan.
Speaker 1:So what was that in like? What year was that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, end of 2005,. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you did Afghan and that was so. You went out there as a regiment, flew out 05, and that was sort of like before the so-called shooting war was going to start, when they turned around and said we're going to be out here and we're not going to fire a single bullet yeah, it kind of went into the first well, my incident in 06.
Speaker 2:It kind of went together really. We sort of carried on.
Speaker 1:So was that, on your first tour, the incident?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So is that something you sort of talk about?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so two days back from my incident, we were out there helping. We were out for two weeks out on the ground, based in Bastion, but we used to go out on patrols and at that time we were out living in the desert for two weeks, which is hard enough for anyone, let alone in a scimitar which is ridiculously like 100 odd degrees.
Speaker 2:Describe the scimitar People wouldn't know what a scimitar is cimeter, which is ridiculously like a hundred degrees and um describe the cimeter. I suppose people would know. Yeah, it's a small armored tank, not really sure why we got they put them out in afghanistan. I'd like to say it's pretty much like an oven inside you. You um your hot water that you're drinking. That's meant to be sort of cold. It is literally you can put a tea bag in it and you could cook off the front of the deck. So you got that hot. Um, how many small tanks. So at the time I was in a spartan, so a Spartan is one that you can get people in the back.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So I had. There was three of us. Three of us and then the ones with the main guns on them. They've got three and three man crews as well. The only difference with the ones where you can fit people in the back is you could, out of squeeze, get two more people in one okay, it's pretty uncomfortable conditions being for two weeks yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:And then you've got to carry all your kit which is kind of strapped to the sides or wherever you can. You've then got like ballistic armor on the sides which it does stop, um, rocket grenades. It acts as like a porcupine effect around the outside of the tank, so it's designed to stop rocket grenades, which it did do a few times when we got back and thought there's a rocket grenade stuck in the side of our wagon. What is that like?
Speaker 2:So it's like the grid system so it catches the fins and what not. Yeah, yeah, yeah, Pretty close to comfort, like.
Speaker 1:But that's crazy, isn't it? You get out of the tank sort of shaking yourself off and you've got a rocket-parallel grenade just sort of stuck in the side live.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like, oh wow, that was close. Quick selfie, and he didn't even know about it.
Speaker 1:like oh it like ah, so before the incident did you get into many contacts? What were the locals like? Were they fairly friendly? Did you yeah?
Speaker 2:the locals were brilliant. They really took to us being in the area. The trouble is the Taliban and, like everyone out there, the money is everything and the Taliban was very corrupt and things like that. So the locals really went to town with things like that on them and for us being there it was a kind of relief really and they wanted to get back to how they used to live. You know, yeah. The Taliban had just taken over the town, so this is helm, helmland province yeah, this is helmand.
Speaker 2:Yeah, basically when bastion was being made, we we helped make some of where the tank park is and obviously from years on it got bigger and bigger. At that stage it was it was pretty small, pretty much an airfield, with a couple of tank parks right around it.
Speaker 1:I suppose, for people to try and understand, Bastion was the main British and later American forces of the camp out there, and it was absolutely huge, wasn't it? It was a city essentially. I think it was the size of New York.
Speaker 2:It wasn't that big at that point, that's what I say. It was quite tiny. Essentially, I think it was the size of New York. Yeah, it wasn't that big at that point, that's what I say. Yeah, it was quite tiny at that point. It's pretty vague on what I do remember. I do remember the Americans around one side, and that was quite small. We used to go around there and rob all the fridges because they had fancy drinks in their fridges and we had like Screech it was fancy drinks in their fridges and we had like screech.
Speaker 1:It's probably about as good as it got. I remember that in iraq he used to. You know we'd be sitting there. You get your one liter of water a day that you had to walk half a mile to go and collect from some store. By the time you got back you drunk half it and the rest of it was just so tepid, so warm. You look over the wire and see some yank swords walking past with his burger king, you and his big jumbo Coke. Yeah, you bastards.
Speaker 2:Sat in like an ice bath. Yeah, didn't feel guilty Struggling to get water.
Speaker 1:I know it's an odd, but I think things did improve. But I mean Helmland itself. I mean the size of that, people trying to put it into perspective. There was like 10,000 British soldiers out there, of which, let's say, 50% of those were actual war fighters like yourself. But the Helmand province is something like the size of the United Kingdom or something, isn't it? It's a huge area.
Speaker 2:Yeah, before we left. Yeah, it was absolutely massive.
Speaker 1:Yeah, crazy. So you're obviously out there patrolling doing the hearts and minds of the locals and at this point it's very much seen as that hearts and minds and not a war fighting role.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we had a few contacts and obviously the Taliban, finding out what we could do and what we couldn't do, kind of patrolling around finding minefields that weren't plotted on maps. Patrolling around finding minefields that weren't plotted on maps, which was pretty sketchy at one point when the whole squadron of 30 wagons drove into a minefield. I do remember that.
Speaker 2:But we only found that out because one of the guy no it wasn't but one of the wagons that was his track, clipped the side of it and it literally blew the side of his wagon out, and at that point it was all like, wow, this is pretty sketchy. Yeah, every driver was then out in his belt buckle for the next four hours trying to find his way out wow, I mean that's mind clearance, which I remember doing the mind clearance training thinking I hope I never have to actually employ this skill.
Speaker 1:It's something you know, the guys that do that.
Speaker 2:Imagine doing that with a tank behind you, hoping that you'd cleared it properly.
Speaker 1:That's quite well especially the size Some of those IEDs I mean there's. There was a. I was reading a book a little while back by some of the bomb disposal guys and it was painting the sand or something they call it, because if they get it wrong when they're searching for the mines, that's it.
Speaker 2:You won't know a thing, but at that stage it was like Russian mines, so it was the IEDs weren't around at that point. We didn't really bump into any of those. Fortunately, it was only until later on, when we got near the cities nearer to the Musa Khalifa area, that they started using IDs to kind of hold us back.
Speaker 1:So these are all the legacy mines from the Russians back in the 80s that they've left there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly yeah, which weren't plotted on maps, which is pretty crazy.
Speaker 1:No, that's the Russians, wasn't it? I think they just dropped them indiscriminately. But then the IEDs, the improvised explosive devices. They became much more commonplace, and obviously the Taliban and some of their outside supporters, Iran and whoever else, is sort of getting their behind the scenes. Sort of proxy war, that's when it got lethal, and they really sort of u there behind the scenes sort of proxy war. That's when it got lethal, and they really sort of upped their game Because they were just watching you, as you said earlier on just the tactics and how you operate, how do you move, what your harbour area is like, and just gathering all that intelligence.
Speaker 2:I remember sitting at a FOB, which is a forward observation base we were basically looking onto well, we're just looking on to a valley and at that point it was kind of changing daily on what we could do as far as contacting and all the rest of it. But we were sat in this fob and'd basically have to plot every ID that you watched them set until the morning and we'd then go out and take them all out, which was crazy did you have the snipers there, sort of taking out Taliban as they were laying, or?
Speaker 2:no, because at that point they couldn't but, yeah, there was an engagement said that we couldn't engage unless we saw. You know the right thing to be doing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it was crazy, wasn't it? I mean reading the card. Are they shooting at you? Yeah, is your life in imminent danger? Well, no but it will be if I walk out of the gate. Yeah, it was one hair behind the back, so yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So, going into the incident, um first of august, we'd been out on the ground, as I said, for two weeks and um heading towards musikala, basically, and with the end goal of helping the Danish to get their rations, there's been ambushed daily so they couldn't get their rations from the area. And as we approached Moussakala, which is a built up from what I remember, we parked up on top of the hill and as we looked over it was all built up, big sand walls 10 foot or higher than the tank, and we realised that the only way to the point where the Danish were was straight through the middle. So we hatched down and we all locked down and as we drove into the middle of Moistakala, there's like a little mud bridge which was where all the main traffic went. So at that point the village was completely dead, which we kind of knew things weren't right. We couldn't see any locals around. We were kind of waiting for something to kick off.
Speaker 2:And as we drove into the village I was the middle wagon and the front wagon went through and as I drive over, an IED detonated which tore my wagon straight in half and the ambush then kicked off. They shot rocket grenades at the first wagon which disabled that one, not killing the guys in it. Fortunately, um as uh as as. At that point they then shot rocket grenades at me and I was kind of watching. The guys literally looked at him in the eyes as he shot me and the uh, the engine sort of blew up and that's what engulfed me in flames. At that point I realised that the guys on the back were killed and as I tried to climb out or as I did climb out I was shot twice in my right leg as.
Speaker 2:I ran to cover all at the same time. I was trying to put myself out and trying to figure out where to go and what to do. So I mean this is unbelievable.
Speaker 1:You know one minute you're driving down through the, through muscala. You know something is not quite right. Obviously your nerves are on edge on edge. This is happening in a matter of seconds. I imagine the explosion the vehicle was sort of in half.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it felt like hours Time shot by and it all kicked off pretty quickly From, as you say, driving down the hill to everything kicking off. Didn't know where we were going.
Speaker 1:I mean one hell of a contact. I mean it's not something you can practice for?
Speaker 2:I mean nah, what's it?
Speaker 1:say you know, the best laid plans don't survive. First contact that's it yeah. So then did you manage to put yourself out? Were your oppos there to sort of help, sort of put out the flames?
Speaker 2:at that point I realised that there was a sort a gully and a small wall behind us. It was running alongside us. I just instantly ran in front of the wagon, ran down towards this gully, thinking if I get down behind that wall, hopefully the ambush is right on top of us, so I'll try and get as far away as possible. So I got down behind this wall and at that point I could still um feel, uh, ammo and bullets hitting around me. So I thought, well, they must be still near me somewhere and um, I just remember having the troop leader's pistol with me and that was kind of it really Sort of let loose of that for a little bit and unfortunately things stopped. So just then hoped that someone would find me from that point.
Speaker 1:So obviously they came. So your teammates came and found you, your other members of the troop.
Speaker 2:Yes. So what I know now is obviously the guys in the front wagon then decided well, now we've got to get out. So they fought through the firefight back towards me or back towards the wagon, realised that I was missing. At that point they thought I'd been blown out somewhere. So then done a quick sweep, couldn't find me. And then the guys in the rear wagon had gone back up the hill to give covering fire, kind of saw. Well, it was obviously me, but at that point I was burnt. So they kind of saw this figure near the wall. And then that's how they found me, his figure near the wall. And then that's how they found me.
Speaker 2:The guys in the front of the wagon then run over to me and one of the blokes picked me up and we'd done one, but it was kind of sort of five minutes after that they put me on the front decks and I remember the bullet wound hurt more than anything else, which was surreal really. I'd just been burnt as well. I suppose all the nerve endings are gone, so the my leg. I remember one of the guys leaning on it as I was on the front deck, so he's kind of holding on me and I was on there going ah, my leg, my leg.
Speaker 2:And uh, he was thinking that's the last, you troubles me. At that point I didn't know that, I was just thinking my leg, get the morphine in. I mean, what do?
Speaker 1:they do the. So the last year of travel at that point I didn't know that I was just thinking my leg, get the morphine in. What do they do? So the guys sort of manage to stabilise you on the ground. The firefight's over at this point, is it? They've sort of secured the area firefight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, the firefight still, we just pulled out. So at that point things went quiet, dispersed, um, we were on a, on this rear wagon. Then we're on the front of the wagon and I remember it going full speed backwards and um got to where the uh, the troop section was waiting and I just remember it felt like hours again and I could hear the chinook coming over. And that was. That was me. Then they they obviously gave me morphine. I remember a nurse on the back of the Chinook saying stay with us, stay with us. And I said, oh man, I'm hurting now. And that was me.
Speaker 1:That's an incredible story. Obviously, you were injured. You're the only survivor from your wagon. Was there three others that passed on that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, three others. Unfortunately, one of the guys had got in there a few days before. He was I forget his actual job I think he was out of the food, one of seven RHA guys, so he had got in there a few days before and he was coming out to support us, basically, and calling in what they do. I didn't know his job exactly, but I knew that he'd only just got in the wagon, fortunately.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that was discussed last year when we were in Arnhem, wasn't it? And a friend of ours who was obviously one of the seven power lads he never put two and two together realised that you were in that wagon with his friend, because everyone always thought everyone had been killed in that. Contact it was unsurvivable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, surreal, surreal. I never knew. Never knew about him before yeah, yeah, even when we when we got out to New Zealand and met the guy, he was one of close friends of him, of the troopy, wow yeah it's incredible unbelievable it is actually this is good. I always say that I was the lucky one to get out. I was the lucky one to come out, you know. So, yeah, you are.
Speaker 1:I mean, you've got an incredible family and you know they're lucky to have you so maybe not driving skills but so I mean this obviously you're medevaced in the Chinook back to back to Bastion. Obviously they do everything they can to to save your life and to stabilise you. Where did you go from there? Did you go? Did you get flown to Germany or back to the UK?
Speaker 2:no, obviously at this point I'm out and I'm pretty certain they then that they had to. There was a guy in the, a colonel, a guy called Bruce. He was one of the obviously the top medical guys out in Bastion. I remember speaking to him after, obviously, when I woke up and he said if you don't get back to Broomfield Burns Unit in Essex then I wouldn't survive. So they got me back to the UK as soon as possible, straight into the Burns Unit, and that was me for sort of four months so four months were you in a coma?
Speaker 1:oh wait, you were in a coma. Yeah, so your family. So were you married at this point? No, no, I'd met my now wife just before going out there so it must have been really difficult on both of you, on your wife or then sort of girlfriend, yeah, visiting you sort of at the unit um, yeah so you spent four months in a coma there and obviously they operating in the in the background whilst you're in a coma yeah, so they estimated about 500 hours of um medical procedures.
Speaker 2:So either skin grafts, yeah, basically fixed me back together as much as they could. I woke up four months later like seven stone yeah, what were you like before?
Speaker 2:fairly big guy, or yeah, normal, average build, love my fitness. That was the hardest thing, you know waking up and not being able to move for one and then realising something's not quite right. At that stage things didn't really go through my head because, going back to how I was as a person, I was just kind of having a laugh with the staff and now the nurse is a brilliant, girlfriend was there and family around and yeah, just I knew something was in right and I could only sort of look down on my arms and I was about here really at that stage.
Speaker 1:You were completely wrapped up, sort of bandaged.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah, I couldn't really see a lot. I knew I had a big external fixator on my leg which kind of held the bones together, so I knew that wasn't ideal and that's probably about all I could say at that point and what did they tell you at that point?
Speaker 1:did they sort of say what the level of injuries were?
Speaker 2:yeah, yeah. Well, I had to ask. I'd woken up with 75% burns for a degree and a complex break to my femur. Yeah, and how about was?
Speaker 1:there a lot of pain relief. I imagine, still at that point, a complex break to my femur. And was there a lot?
Speaker 2:of pain relief, I imagine. Still at that point, yeah, yeah, I didn't really know what was going on, which is the other reason why I couldn't really see a lot. I couldn't move. So it doesn't do you a lot of favours when you're in a coma for that long. You then have to learn to walk. I remember being in a physio bed and they used to try and jack the bed up so my body would go upright rather than laying down. At that point it felt like I was going to hit my face on the floor where I was going to just go straight over Because you've been laying on your back for so long.
Speaker 1:It's a horrible feeling, horrible feeling to get used to again so you had to go through all this rehabilitation process, which must have taken quite some time yeah, I was in hospital for that full year pretty much, and then got back to Headley Court in February of the following so Headley Court being so that's the military sort of hospital.
Speaker 2:That was the military rehab centre. Yeah, At that time it was probably fairly wasn't so busy.
Speaker 1:I imagine it started to.
Speaker 2:No, yeah, I was one of the first, so there wasn't very many until it kicked off a little bit further and other guys came through. So I got to Ligau in a sorry old state, thinking I was one of the worst. Well, I was the worst, but it wasn't until guys that were worse come through.
Speaker 1:Then it kind of helps you with your own state of mind, you know yeah, I imagine your mind must have been all over the shop at that time, sort of wondering what I mean. It's a complete change of of life. You know from everything you, you previously knew. It's like, well, what next?
Speaker 2:yeah, what do I do now? I couldn't even walk at that point. How long were you at the Hedley Court for?
Speaker 1:Until 2014. Wow.
Speaker 2:So eight years? Yeah, something like that, yeah 2006.
Speaker 1:My maths is almost as, uh as good as yours, yeah eight years so eight years in and out, and you're still a serving soldier for that time yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, basically at that point I was having rehab, um stretches, you know, my hands didn't work and my arms couldn't bend and I had to learn to walk. You know everything that they could think of the army done for me. And then, yeah, there was no more that they could do. So I'm having the rehab and then I'm being fixed in hospital, literally being fixed. I'm having skin grafts, sort of adjustments here and there, and scar management and all that sort of stuff. That went on for a good six years until I got to a point where I didn't need as much.
Speaker 1:That's a huge amount of time to be there, though. I mean it must have taken its toll on you and your relationship.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it did. How was your life? Yeah that was the hardest bit really come to terms with what to say to her. You know, yeah, yeah, four years on, and that's when I was diagnosed with PTSD, just because they it got to a stage where I was in and out so much that they my body sort of said, kind of I've had enough now. And yeah, that's the hardest bit really.
Speaker 1:We'll probably touch on the ptsd in a minute because it's a very common theme with, obviously, soldiers, especially like yourself. We've been through some massive trauma, um, and obviously, speaking to other guys, you know chat we had on the other day we're talking about pta. He had some fantastic advice for through how he helps people. Be worth you listening to that and anyone else who's listening to his podcast, look up Steve's podcast. He had some brilliant words and it really resonated. So let's move to the brighter part. So you come out of Headley Court, so you're obviously you leave the military and then you think what next? You've obviously been through a right old rollercoaster of a ride. You're a hugely strong character. Having known you so I know you wouldn't just sit around moping. So what did you do next?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So it kind of goes back to. It kind of comes on to four years in when I get diagnosed with PTSD. From that point I got invited to go out go-kart racing. It was literally a guy who had bought a go-kart and wanted to do something for some guys in Headley Court. In Headley Court, so a few of us there's four of us, all in a similar state, some amputees and we went go-kart racing. I absolutely loved it and that kind of got me hooked on the racing world. You know, it gave me everything that I'd lost. So the adrenaline, the teamwork gave me a focus again and from there I just got hooked on racing anything and everything and raced go-karts for sort of five years and then wanted to go faster and got into car racing.
Speaker 1:So tell us about the car racing, then you're a professional racing driver, so you've got your licences, you've got a proper team, proper car, pit, car setup. It's. Yeah, it's the real mccoy. I mean, that's not, that's big boy stuff, isn't it? It's you don't just sort of tip up on a friday afternoon in your banger. It's it's quite difficult sort of learning the racing tracks and everything that goes with it yes, it.
Speaker 2:It's literally everything from focusing on what you're doing on the job to doing your homework, learning the track and figuring out the weather, learning what tyres to use, figuring out pit stop strategy. Yeah, I absolutely love it and it does more for me when I'm at the track than anyone could know of. Really, it's one of those. I've found something that I can do when now I can't be in the army and this obviously helps you hugely with your recovery, and you love it and you're very good at it.
Speaker 1:What did you name? The company or your race team?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we, as I say, went into normal car racing and we helped set up a team with just disabled guys that had gone through similar, and then, just at the start of this year, myself and another veteran started up Stantu Motorsport, and it's a motorsport team whereby we aim to eventually the ideal would be to do Le Mans.
Speaker 2:So the first veteran team to do Le Mans 24 hours yeah, the Le Mans 24 hours but yeah, the Le Mans 24 hour, but we know it's the hardest race in the world and to get to that point is obviously a hell of a hell of a journey. But why not aim high? So that is our aim, but at present we're racing in a car called a Praga and Pra. But at present we're racing in a car called a. Praga and Praga are quite new to UK tracks and we're very proud to be part of their journey, and it's one of those cars where we've had to learn how to drive a car with aerodynamics, and trying to learn that is a hell of a skill on its own.
Speaker 1:You've been smashing it, haven't you in the racing car world, so we're doing a bit of research on it. You're not sitting at the back of the grid. What did you finish this year? The end of the season.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we're at the front of the grid and we finished P3 in our class. Next year we want to aim higher. We want the same car with a turbo and we want to aim higher. We want the same car with a turbo and we want to aim for the championship.
Speaker 1:So what's the cost for that turbo? To add that in or to get the turbo version of the car?
Speaker 2:So we need. It's a hundred grand target really. It's big boy toys and it comes for a price, but we aim to. We aim to work with companies local companies, um, corporate companies and show them what we can do, and we always want to give something back, so it's not an all-taking thing. We we like to get people to the track, show people what we enjoy about it and hopefully, uh like people enjoy that as well I'm sure they will.
Speaker 1:I mean, what's if you've got a website or something? So anyone's listening to this can go and have a look yeah, definitely, we've got a website being built at present.
Speaker 2:But we have got a website being built and it's's stand2motorsportcouk. And there's plenty of room on the car for a bit of sponsorship? Absolutely yeah, plenty of room on the car, as always. I'm quite fortunate to have Coldplay join me for a story that I've done, so Coldplay is part of what we do and they're big supporters of how we, how we've been going through our journey that's brilliant, do you?
Speaker 1:that's how Chris Martin and and his band yeah, wow, that's fantastic how do you, how do? You meet like a superstar like that and get him to sort of come on board well, it wasn't.
Speaker 2:No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't that. It was a case of I'd done a story and he's from Exeter and we found a mutual thing and, unbelievably, he contacted me and yeah, that was it. He just wanted to support in some way, that's fantastic. Fortunately, it's not quite as incredible.
Speaker 1:Three degrees of separation. Well, yeah, but then we were at that a couple of years ago, a Brian Adams concert I don't know if I should shout about that on a podcast and we went backstage and Brian comes out and he knew you, martin.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, surreal. He'd done a photo shoot with me before and someone like Brian Adams wanted to get into taking photos and it wasn't. I had my clothes on, it's fine. He didn't give me that much on there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but yeah, I mean, Mrs, how does Martin know him? You know he's like Coldplay, you know he's like Brian Adams.
Speaker 2:I'm like Brian.
Speaker 1:You're like Brian, and actually then we were talking about this the other day, weren as in Prince William. Prince William is your. You served with him right yeah.
Speaker 2:So Prince William and Harry were both new to the regiment when I got injured. So when they was having my tour come home, prince William was there and that's when we sort of got chatting and, I would say, became friends and he invited me to his wedding. Well, myself and my wife at that point, so you get into the wedding sort of tip up.
Speaker 1:That must have been. You'd never expect that, would you sort of tip up? What that?
Speaker 2:that must have been. Quite. You'd never expect that, would you?
Speaker 1:yeah, sort of tipping it what are you in the front row sat in front of Beckham. Beckham was a bit annoyed about that, john, opposite of me he gets to all these royal weddings, doesn't he Beckham? He gets his, he gets his MBE on the wrong side, upside down, bless loves a free drink?
Speaker 2:he does. He's worse than you.
Speaker 1:Well, we're not going to talk about drinking, are we?
Speaker 2:We can embarrass you on that one.
Speaker 1:I mean, you're at when was the wedding? Was it Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle or something St?
Speaker 2:Paul's, oh, ok.
Speaker 1:So he gets the main event then. So you tip up yeah, I went back to At. Oh, ok, so he gets the main event then you tip up, you're at.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I went back to at his wedding. You're at the front in the front row and he goes alright compo, which is pretty cool, as he walks in with Harry so him and Harry are like alright compo.
Speaker 1:What did you say you? Alright mate. Yeah, okay, sir. Yeah, that's unbelievable. Beckham's probably thinking who's this bloke? I imagine Elton John was probably floating around there, wasn't he with his piano or something, ready to do the jingles it was actually comparing socks.
Speaker 2:I went oh yeah, nice socks, because he had his socks hanging out.
Speaker 1:I can imagine they were quite loud yeah, pretty much yeah so then you go, you finish the wedding, then this is a great story. So you're at the wedding. Prince William comes up. He's alright, compo, how you doing, mate? You've got Beckham. Well, you're trying to nick Elton John's socks. You've got David Beckham, sort of nudging you in the back like wait, I can't see your head's in the way who are you?
Speaker 1:yeah, exactly, victoria's. Probably just pouting around there somewhere. Then you go. Is there like the wedding breakfast or whatever they call it afterwards where? So you all go to a room somewhere in a castle or some big they didn't have their photos, didn't they?
Speaker 2:so, yeah, we didn't have a function. We didn't have a royal function. I was a bit disappointed off the right end too.
Speaker 1:Unbelievable. Well, maybe if he's listening to this he'll say look, next time there's a wedding or there's a function on, can Compo come along. That's it With me, plus one. So I mean, life's been a bit of a rollercoaster. It's obviously not been easy at all, but clearly you've, you've been through the mill, um, you've picked yourself up, you you've, you've done something you absolutely love and created and got off and done it all yourself. You know motor racing is not easy. I mean, you've got to be yeah on that.
Speaker 1:You've got to stay fit, you've got to be sort of engaged. I suppose you've got to learn the tracks, you.
Speaker 2:It's not something you can just turn up, is it, and do as I said, it goes back to me saying I was the lucky one to come out of the wagon. You know, for me I'm fortunate enough to be living literally, and I kind of take every day as it comes and do everything that I can squeeze it out of what I've got left.
Speaker 1:I've got left.
Speaker 2:I've met some amazing guys on the way and been very fortunate enough to do all these amazing things, and also I've got an amazing wife and family around me.
Speaker 1:Well, you have. I haven't met your wife. I don't know how she puts up with you. Hopefully you don't drink at home when we go out, because you can only do two beers and you're baggage.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they're your two beers that I've got to drink for you usually.
Speaker 1:Isn't going so well. So tell us some of the stuff that you've done then. Sort of in the last few years You've been on some pretty cool expeditions.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I've done some awesome expeditions with Pilgrim Bandits and I can't thank them enough for that sort of thing and it gets me out of doing the normal tricks and stuff. We kayaked down the Orange River, which was a once-in-a-lifetime trip, Absolutely amazing South Africa, is that Orange River? South Africa? Yeah yeah, South Africa, which was a once in a lifetime trip.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, it was amazing. South Africa, is that Orange?
Speaker 2:River South Africa, yeah what you just get in a kayak and just kayak it yeah, I had a kayak down there and there's some big, great sort of three or four rivers which is quite hard, but we just shrugged it off and cracked on that seems to be the way I mean.
Speaker 1:They're in pilgrim bandits a little bit. They. I mean great charity and it's just kind of there are new limits you know they push you. Everyone enjoys it and it's like that camaraderie. So obviously anyone who's listening to this look them up definitely worth putting a few pennies their way. I think you were telling me a good story about this once, about the Yellow River, orange River, yellow River's the one that's after a night out.
Speaker 2:That's the one I'll do, mate. Yeah, that's the one.
Speaker 1:I'll do. You. Did you're with old Tim Collins, weren't you and anyone?
Speaker 2:that knows him knows he's a bit of a character.
Speaker 1:What was the story you were saying and anyone that knows him knows he's a bit of a character what was the story you were saying about a river or something crossing it?
Speaker 2:so we we'd done this. We'd been going down the Orange River sleeping on the sides, so obviously we all needed a shower. We got to the end. It's bloody hot. South Africa got to the end and we had to cross the border, which is obviously the river. And we've all cross the border, which is obviously the river. We've all got our passports, stamps and we're getting in our kayaks again to get back across. Tim is a guy that smokes decent cigars, decent lemon salutes. Looks a bit like the grey guy off of A-Team.
Speaker 1:Hannibal.
Speaker 2:Hannibal. So, anyway, he's smoking a cigar and he goes watch this, jumps in the river and swims to the other side, still smoking a cigar, and I was like absolute badass. I don't need a passport no, exactly crocodiles, hippos, out the way yeah, yeah, that guy's a legend still smoking a cigar. Exactly Crocodiles hippos out of the way. Yeah, yeah that guy's a legend.
Speaker 1:He's pretty well known, actually, isn't he? He did that speech. So where do you see yourself going then? So you've got everything ahead of you. You've got a great family, great life, the racing, you've got your health. What do you want to do? You know, fast forward the next five years where do you see it going?
Speaker 2:Yes, my house, not all that. So operations are still always on the table because the burns are a horrible thing and basically your body sort of tightens it up. So, unfortunately, there'll be more operations down the road and I'm hoping that we can take our business to the next level and, ideally, show people what we can do by getting them on track, and that's part of our business.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I think that's something I'd really like to promote, because it helps you and it helps other people as well, and I think from the mental health point of view, the racing has probably been quite a big save for you, has it?
Speaker 2:Massively. Yeah, as I say, it's given me back everything that I'd lost and that's important to keep my mind busy, and I've kind of realised that along the road you've had quite a difficult year with the pandemic.
Speaker 2:I suppose racing and it gives you a lot of time it's been difficult for everyone, I know, but we we have to get sponsors to go racing and companies are. I'm not coming forward these days just because everyone's obviously having to tighten their belts, but we've got so much to offer and, yeah, we're just hoping to work with companies out there that that want to see what we're up to yeah, well, hopefully, off the back of this, someone will be listening who will step forward and help you even more. Yeah, fingers crossed though.
Speaker 1:So one of the things we sort of ask on this show. It's one of the sort of last questions. We've sort of been journeying in your shoes for the last hour and really appreciate you telling us your story. I know it's not easy, but we sort of say three things. Three things that they're your must-haves, you can't be without. What are your three?
Speaker 2:I was gonna lump this one yeah, family definitely friends and having fun, I suppose they come together. And racing definitely Friends and having fun, I suppose they come together.
Speaker 1:And racing Exactly, I think the racing is a big part of you, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, definitely.
Speaker 1:That's why I'm not letting you drive any of my cars, because At the moment you've only got your Landys. So, yeah, actually, that's broken as well, now what's the Land Rover? It's got your Landis so yeah, actually that's broken as well. Now what's the Land Rover?
Speaker 1:it's probably always been broken that's just Land Rover, yeah well, man, it's been fantastic having you on and you know anyone that is listening, stand to motorsport, look it up. You know, if you can put any sponsorship, do some corporate, you know somebody might be interested. You know Martin has sought you out for a day. You get the sponsors up to the track, don't you? And you can do sort of driving experiences and everything really flexible. So let's do that. And then, obviously, from us, they were wishing you and your family a fantastic christmas and, uh, obviously, the best of health and happiness and, um, I'm sure we're going to be catching up pretty soon. Anyway, yeah, um, yeah, yeah, definitely. And yeah, appreciate your time today.
Speaker 2:Cheers mate, Thank you.
Speaker 1:That was our guest today, martin Compton on Another Man's Shoes. We want to thank again for coming on and sharing his story and what a journey he's been on, from the toughest of times in Afghanistan to being blown up through to the recovery period, the multiple operations. But he's now come out the other side and you know he's an accomplished author. So you can buy his book Home From War. That's available on Amazon, so why don't you buy a copy? It's a great read. He's also on Facebook and Instagram so you can follow him and continue on the journey with him and help support him in his motorsport that is, stand to underscore motorsport. On Instagram he's also at martincomptonracing, so search in there and you'll find him.
Speaker 1:As always, we'd appreciate all your subscribes and follows. So if you're on Instagram, leave a comment, like our posts. If you're on Spotify, please subscribe to us. Or our podcast Again, you can subscribe, and you can also leave comments and reviews in there. It all helps. It helps push us up the rankings and more people can enjoy the show. For now, that's another episode of another man's shoes completed. We hope to see you again soon.