FIREFIGHTER AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS RISE TO CHALLENGE
EXCLUSIVE
A SOLDIER who had to learn to walk again after he was almost killed in a Taliban ambush has climbed to Everest’s base camp – and skydived beside the iconic peak.
Former Lance Corporal Martyn Compton was named one of Britain’s most injured soldiers after suffering 75% burns to his body when his vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan.
He was told he might never walk or use his arms again, his future made even more bleak by gunshot wounds that had shattered his upper right leg.
He spent 12 weeks in a coma and months more in a wheelchair after the attack in August 2006.
But Martyn vowed to reclaim his life – finally taking his first steps exactly 15 years ago.
And he marked the anniversary by climbing the slopes of Everest with other armed forces and blue light heroes thanks to the support of charity Pilgrim Bandits.
The dad-of-two said: “I used to feel taking two steps was like climbing Everest. Now I’ve trekked part of it for real. It feels a very spiritual place, for me and the whole team.”
Martyn, 37, whose dad Robert died in 2020, added: “We had to dig deep, both with the distance and also the altitude. I’ve felt my dad on my shoulder keeping me going.
We had to dig deep, both with the distance and
the altitude
Pilgrim Bandits is raising funds
for its next veterans’ expedition. You
can donate at totalgiving.
co.uk/mypage/ mteveresttrekjump
Determination
“I wore my lucky watch, which I was wearing on the day of the blast. It’s a bit burned but it’s still going. I’m wearing it for the memories it represents – those who didn’t make it.”
Among those climbing with him were double amputees Tyler Christopher, whose determination saw him crawl part of the way, and Hari Budha Magar, a former Gurkha believed to have now set a record as the first double amputee to walk to Everest’s base camp and then parachute by the peak.
Martyn, of Battle,
East Sussex, has had a thousand operations for his injuries.
He said: “The fact I never thought I’d do something like this again, and to join the other guys who have achieved so much following life-changing injury, is incredible. To parachute next to Everest was overwhelming.”
Tyler, 37 – also a former Lance Corporal – was injured in Afghanistan in August 2009. He had both legs amputated above the knee.
He and Martyn have become firm friends after meeting at MOD rehab centre Headley Court in Surrey.
Tyler, of Cardigan, West Wales, was 13th in line in his patrol as they zigzagged through hostile territory. He said: “We were checking a group of buildings, walking in single file. I just remember being on the floor with my ears ringing and dust flying around. I’m grateful every day that I’m alive.
“Initially I was in a wheelchair and I’d gone into a shell. I’ve found the confidence to come out of that, thanks to the support the charity’s given me.”
Of the trek up Everest, he revealed: “A few times I had to crawl. I swapped my legs over so I was low to the ground, as there’s no easy path up – it was massively tough with the altitude. Then we walked around a corner and
you could see the top of Everest with the clouds around the top of it… it was a very special moment.”
Army veteran Dean Bousfield, 35, had served for
10 years before a sniper shot him in the head in Afghanistan in July 2010. The bullet passed through his brain, exiting above his ear – and he is the only known survivor of such an injury.
In 2015, he made the difficult decision to have his left arm amputated due to paralysis from his brain injury.
Dean, of Lincoln, said: “I had no idea I was capable of anything like this any more.
Most people who ‘acquire’ a severe brain injury pretty much write themselves off. This has been by far the toughest challenge of my life, postinjury. From the toughness of the treks to the breathtaking beauty and to become one of the first disabled people to ever skydive over Mount Everest – not once, but twice – it has been amazing.
“This challenge has given me that drive I was missing.”
Former Gurkha and dad-oftwo Hari, 42, from Canterbury, Kent, lost his legs in an April 2010 bombing in Afghanistan.
He hopes to get confirmation that he broke two world records on the trip. He became the first double above-knee amputee to make it to Everest base camp and the first to do an oxygen-assisted parachute jump from 23,000ft over the mountain. His next goal is to reach the summit next year.
He said: “It was an amazing lifetime experience in my motherland. Nothing is impossible. I’m conquering what I have dreamed of.”
Emotional
Completing the group were John Chart, 51, a former London firefighter from Beckenham, Kent, who has motor neurone disease and has lost the use of his arms, and King’s Royal Hussars veteran Richard Wilkinson, a below-knee amputee who was shot in Afghanistan in September 2012.
Martyn told how his determination to get back on his feet stemmed from a promise to his sweetheart Michelle that he would walk up the aisle for their wedding. Not only did he achieve that goal in July 2008 but he and Michelle, 39, now have kids Archie, 11, and Coral, 10. He also launched car racing firm Stand2motorsport, helping other injured veterans.
Martyn said: “As I lay in hospital, Michelle set a target to walk down the aisle at our wedding. My first steps 15 years ago were painful, wobbly and emotional. When I finally walked up the aisle it was so emotional – I remember
Michelle whispering,
‘I’m proud of you.’
“Having a family is the greatest gift. With every adventure, every expedition, they are there for me.” Pilgrim
Bandits CEO Matt Hellyer, 51, who has himself overcome kidney cancer, also joined the trek.
The former SAS hero, of Poole, Dorset, said: “It’s tough for people with no disability to conquer these altitudes, mountaineers who’ve trained for months. Imagine doing it having no legs or no arms.
“The energy used by our amputees is extraordinary. Their efforts were superhuman. Hari has broken two world records.
“Dean was told after being shot in the head he’d never walk or talk again. But he’s walked up to 4,000 metres with a walking stick and a backpack, and parachuted from 23,000ft – which is just extraordinary.
“You have Martyn with 75% burns, while Tyler crawled on his hands and knees part of the way – he had us all in tears with his courage. It was truly humbling to walk with these heroes.”
Matt, a former Warrant Officer in the SAS, added that Pilgrim Bandits desperately needs donations to help more heroes achieve the impossible.
He said: “We want to help others who’ve done so much for this country. We hope the public will get behind us.”
And Martyn added: “I think we are all pinching ourselves at how far we have all come. Each and every one of us has overcome adversity. But we have refused to let it define us.”