FROM HERO T After I won the Military Cross the Army used me as a poster boy – I even met President Bush – but the day after I was diagnosed with PTSD they abandoned me
THEY were the two proudest moments of Trevor Coult’s remarkable career – receiving his Military Cross from the Queen and meeting US President George Bush.
But today Trevor, 42, struggles to look at the photos after he was abandoned by the Army and his family were threatened with eviction from their Ministry of Defence home.
As calls grew yesterday for the Royal Family to add their weight to our campaign for stricken veterans, Trevor told how his bravery and loyalty counted for nothing after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He shot dead three suicide bombers, was involved in more than 100 firefights and witnessed horrific deaths of comrades in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But instead of getting support, the former sergeant in the Royal Irish Regiment – whose colonel-in-chief is Prince Andrew – was medically discharged and faced homelessness.
The brutal treatment made his mental health worse and at his lowest ebb Trevor tried to kill himself when he drove the family car into a brick wall.
Devastated
He told the Sunday People: “I was often wheeled out by the Army as a hero and was chosen to meet George Bush in the White House. But the day after I was diagnosed with PTSD, I was effectively abandoned by the Army.
“I was sent home on sick leave and no one contacted me for 11 months. Then I got a letter from the Ministry of Defence saying I had 28 days to vacate my MoD property or I would be evicted and my family would be moved into sheltered accommodation. I was devastated.
“My salary of £36,000 had gone and I was homeless. I became depressed very quickly and attempted suicide.
“It was the lowest I had ever been and just 12 months earlier I had a great career ahead of me.”
Trevor praised the Sunday People’s Save Our Soldiers campaign which is calling for a drastic overhaul of the way military PTSD victims are treated.
He said: “The claim that the Ministry of Defence says it cares about veterans who have PTSD is nonsense.
“I have yet to meet a single veteran with PTSD who is satisfied with the treatment they have received.”
Col Richard Kemp, head of UK military action in Afghanistan in 2003, said: “The Queen is the sovereign and head of state. The Royal family, like any of us, have a duty to play their part in doing more to help our troops.” Billy MacLeod, founder of Veterans In Action, said: “Trevor is a modern-day hero. His story highlights how the MoD are failing to help their veterans.
“We see this every day, veterans not being treated right and having to fight for help even though they’ve been diagnosed with PTSD. Prince Harry does an awful lot for veterans but the Royal Family could do more than just pin medals on their chests.”
Trevor, known as “Speedy” in the Army because of his running prowess, signed up as an 18-year-old in 1994.
He got his first taste of combat in Baghdad in 2005 when he shot dead three suicide bombers in an ambush. For his courage and leadership he was awarded the Military Cross – the third highest award for bravery.
In April 2006, two months after he returned from Iraq, he was one of a handful of soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment attached to the Parachute Regiment and sent to Afghanistan for what would be the start of an eight-year war against the Taliban.
The two units were involved in closequarter combat almost every day. In one attack two soldiers sitting on Trevor’s left and right were killed in explosion but he survived unscathed.
Trevor said: “I looked around when the dust settled and I could see that both guys were dead. I was covered in their blood but I was unharmed. You wonder why you escaped and you are left feeling almost guilty. It was six months of hard fighting and my weight dropped to eight stone and I’m 5ft 11in.
“When I returned from Afghanistan, I had a stutter, my hand was shaking and I had a twitch in my left eye which lasted for about a month.”
Two years later Trevor was back in Afghanistan in the thick of battle in the Taliban stronghold Sangin.
He continued: “It was another tough tour and I was very lucky. My radio operator was killed in exactly the same spot as two others of my unit had been two years earlier. Once again I thought ‘how did I escape?’ When I returned to the UK I transferred to the Military Provost Guard Service. I wanted something different and this would have extended my career until I was 55.
Panic
“I returned to Afghanistan in 2012 for another tough tour. When I came back I really began to struggle.
“I had nightmares, mood swings and flashbacks and then one day when I was giving a lesson to trainees I couldn’t remember what to say. I left the room and had a panic attack. It was like a