[et_pb_section fb_built=“1″ admin_label=“Feature Section“ _builder_version=“4.16″ custom_margin=“|||“ custom_padding=“13px||110px|||“ locked=“off“ global_colors_info=“{}“][et_pb_row column_structure=“1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=“on“ gutter_width=“4″ admin_label=“Feature“ module_id=“anke“ module_class=“ et_pb_row_fullwidth“ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ width=“86%“ width_tablet=“80%“ width_phone=“80%“ width_last_edited=“on|desktop“ max_width=“86%“ max_width_tablet=“80%“ max_width_phone=“80%“ max_width_last_edited=“on|desktop“ custom_padding=“40px||40px|“ make_fullwidth=“on“ global_colors_info=“{}“][et_pb_column type=“1_2″ _builder_version=“4.18.0″ background_color_gradient_start=“#fcd21d“ background_color_gradient_end=“#fcd21d“ global_colors_info=“{}“ custom_padding__hover=“|||“][et_pb_image src=“https:\/\/crossover-showroom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/MARTYN-COMPTON.jpg“ title_text=“MARTYN-COMPTON“ align_tablet=“center“ align_phone=“center“ align_last_edited=“off|desktop“ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ custom_margin=“|||“ animation_style=“slide“ animation_direction=“right“ animation_intensity_slide=“8%“ animation_starting_opacity=“100%“ hover_enabled=“0″ global_colors_info=“{}“ align=“center“ max_height_last_edited=“on|phone“ sticky_enabled=“0″ max_height_phone=“250px“][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=“1_2″ _builder_version=“4.18.0″ custom_padding=“0%||0%||true|false“ global_colors_info=“{}“ custom_padding__hover=“|||“][et_pb_text _builder_version=“4.27.4″ _module_preset=“ae9b3157-d3b3-4f55-bc58-0c4f287a15b2″ text_font=“Unna|500||on|||||“ text_text_color=“#ba9a9a“ text_letter_spacing=“3px“ custom_margin=“||2px||false|false“ animation_style=“slide“ animation_direction=“bottom“ locked=“off“ global_colors_info=“{}“]Lance Corporal [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=“Title“ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ text_font=“Montserrat||||||||“ text_text_color=“#747d88″ text_font_size=“16px“ text_line_height=“1.9em“ header_font=“||||||||“ header_text_align=“left“ header_2_font=“Unna|700||on|||||“ header_2_font_size=“42px“ header_2_line_height=“1.3em“ max_width=“700px“ module_alignment=“left“ custom_margin=“||-1px||false|false“ animation_style=“slide“ animation_direction=“bottom“ animation_intensity_slide=“4%“ locked=“off“ global_colors_info=“{}“]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=“Subtitle“ _builder_version=“4.27.4″ text_font=“Unna||||||||“ text_text_color=“#747d88″ text_font_size=“18px“ text_line_height=“1.8em“ header_font=“||||||||“ max_width=“700px“ module_alignment=“left“ custom_margin=“|||“ custom_padding=“||20px|“ animation_style=“slide“ animation_direction=“bottom“ animation_delay=“100ms“ animation_intensity_slide=“4%“ locked=“off“ global_colors_info=“{}“]<\/p>\n
I was deployed in 2006 to Helmand, Afghanistan, with The Household Cavalry. I was 22 when I went out there. My role was a driver or radio operative. I had mixed feelings before I deployed. Nerves played a part, but I was also excited\u2014it\u2019s what I had joined the Army to do, and what I\u2019d trained so hard for. I knew I would miss my family, and I\u2019d also met my girlfriend, now my wife, Michelle, about four months before. Knowing that I was going to be away for six months was hard.<\/p>\n
I was injured on 1st August 2006. We were on a mission to help the Danish troops collect their rations. We came to the top of a hill that looked down on a small town. The only way through the town was via a road with high walls either side. We got in convoy and put the hatches down, as we didn\u2019t know what the situation was like down there. As we got into the road, we were ambushed by the Taliban. They tried to take out the central wagon, which was the one I was in. We tried to reverse out of the ambush, and, as we were doing so, my wagon was hit by an IED. The three other lads that were in it were killed instantly. The enemy began shooting RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] directly at me, from about 25 metres away \u2013 I remember seeing the guy looking over the wall and firing. The RPGs blew the wagon up and engulfed me in flames. Luckily I managed to climb out of the wagon. At this point, I was in a lot of pain, my body armour was melting into my skin, and my emotions were running high. I ran in front of the wagon to try and get some cover, as there were bullets coming down at me. As I was running, I got shot in the leg twice and I fell to the ground.<\/p>\n
At this point, the gunner and the operative from the front wagon jumped out to see if anyone was left in my wagon. That\u2019s when they noticed I was missing. The wagon that had been at the back of the convoy had reversed back up the hill. They saw someone who they thought was Taliban, but it was actually me trying to wave. They started firing thinking I was Taliban, but luckily the guys coming round from the front wagon saw me and the fire stopped. I was casevac\u2019d out soon after that \u2013 my memory gets a bit patchy. I was in huge amounts of pain. I remember hearing the Chinook landing, they got me onto the Chinook. I remember a guy saying, \u201cStay with us, stay with us\u201d and that was it. I died officially then. I was revived, and taken back to Bastion \u2013 although I don\u2019t remember any of this. Apparently I died a further three times on my way back to the UK.<\/p>\n
I was in a coma for five months while they tried to rebuild me. It was touch and go. I had 75 per cent full-thickness third-degree burns and two gunshot wounds to my right leg. I was burned pretty much down to bone. They had to rebuild what they could with the skin I had left \u2013 basically, they took skin from the good bits that were left, and tried to put it where I needed it. The only skin I had remaining was at the bottoms of my legs, so there was a limit to what they could do with it. The rest of it is integral, which is fake skin. That\u2019s mostly what my face is made up of. The bullets took a lot of muscle out and I can\u2019t bend my leg fully. I\u2019ve got very little strength in my right leg, and it causes me pain all the time.<\/p>\n
When I was in the coma, the doctors and nurses only allowed my dad and Michelle in to see me. I could have picked up infections really easily, because my body was open to fresh air. Then a few months later, they started letting other family in, but just one at a time. As soon as I woke up, my family were there. That\u2019s how I got through things. I didn\u2019t understand the extent of my injuries initially. The hospital staff didn\u2019t want to show me straight away, because it was obviously going to be a big shock. I was on a lot of drugs that took the pain away, so I didn\u2019t really know what was going on at the time.<\/p>\n
But about three months after waking up, I wanted to go out. I think it was fireworks night. They said, \u201cIf you’re going to go out, you might see yourself, so you\u2019re going to have to see yourself in a mirror before going out.\u201d Michelle was with me and I looked in the mirror, and I broke down. That was the hardest thing for me. It was a strange feeling looking in that mirror. I\u2019d just been being myself, messing about in hospital, trying to keep cheerful, and then all of a sudden I didn\u2019t look anything like I did before. So, it was really weird. A life-changing experience. Initially, I thought, \u201cLook at the state of me.\u201d I felt hard done by. But then eventually I thought, \u201cI can\u2019t do anything about it, I\u2019m still here and I\u2019m the fortunate one that got out of that wagon\u201d, so I just thank my lucky stars really. And, of course, the support from Michelle and my dad made a huge difference. When I realised I was in such a bad way, I wasn\u2019t sure whether to stay with Michelle. I said to her, \u201cIf you want to go, then I understand because it’s a massive thing that I’ve gone through.\u201d She said, \u201cDon’t be stupid, you\u2019re still you. If you change and it\u2019s not you, I\u2019ll leave on those terms, but you\u2019re still you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I was in Broomfield Hospital, which is a specialist burns hospital in Chelmsford, for about a year and I still go back there now. The consultant and his team have done amazingly well to have rebuilt me like this. After my year there, I went straight to Headley Court for four months, where I had to learn how to walk again and build my life back up. My burns affected my ability to walk. If you\u2019ve been lying down for as long as I was, it\u2019s bloody difficult to stand up again. Your body loses its ability to regulate blood pressure, so when I stood up, all the blood rushed down to my legs, which was hard. The burns also made it awkward because the skin was so tight. So there were plenty of things for the physios to do. They went through a lot of work and I went through a lot of pain. Going to Headley Court definitely helped me. There were guys there who had lost limbs, so I was thankful that I still had all four of mine. Being around people who have been through similar experiences helped me massively. Marrying Michelle also helped me through. She set a date for the wedding, pretty much two years after the day of the injury, and my goal was to be walking for my wedding. That was obviously a huge thing for me, and aiming for that helped motivate me through.<\/p>\n
In terms of how I\u2019m affected day to day, my leg is very weak. I can\u2019t bend it very much and I get nerve pain all the way down my leg, which causes difficulty with walking around. The burns get very tight\u2014I need releases in my armpits and in my arms. Even after those, it\u2019s as though you\u2019re wearing a small suit that you\u2019re trying to stretch. I don\u2019t sweat where I was burnt, which is uncomfortable, especially if it\u2019s warm. But I just cope. I don\u2019t really know how my injuries will affect me as I grow older. I definitely won\u2019t get any grey hair, because I haven\u2019t got any, so that\u2019s always a bonus. I suppose I won\u2019t go wrinkly either. People\u2019s responses to my facial injuries are hard, even though I\u2019ve kind of got used to it. Michelle found it really hard. People would look at me and say things and she\u2019d kick off with them. She\u2019d say things like, \u201cIf you knew what had happened, you wouldn\u2019t say anything.\u201d I\u2019ve lived with it for a while now, and I\u2019ve just got on with it. Occasionally, it still grates on me and I\u2019ll say something, but I\u2019m pretty laid-back to be honest and don\u2019t really worry about it.<\/p>\n
At the moment, I’m officially still in the Army, because I\u2019ve still got so many operations and rehab stints still to come. In the future, I\u2019ll have to find employment somewhere. Sometimes that concerns me because I\u2019ve been in the Army since I left school at sixteen, and it\u2019s all I know. I went to Parliament to fight for more compensation than I was initially offered, which wasn\u2019t enough. When I joined the Army, I obviously realised the risks, but you still expect to be looked after. Although I\u2019ve been awarded more compensation since, you\u2019d get four or five times the amount if you sustained the same injuries as a civilian. I\u2019ve got to go and work to support my family and that\u2019s obviously going to be difficult for me, but I\u2019ve got to do it to earn a living. It\u2019s hard for me to take a nine-to-five job due to all the medical procedures I have to have. If I\u2019ve got an operation tomorrow and I\u2019ve got to be in hospital for two weeks, there\u2019s not many employers that will let you have that time off for the operations, and then a further two months for rehab. It does play on my mind a bit, but I just take it as it comes and I\u2019ll see what comes my way.<\/p>\n
I have two children now. It\u2019s brilliant. It brings me to tears. It\u2019s brilliant, I love it. It\u2019s the best thing in the world. I\u2019m so thankful to be here and I feel really lucky to have had children. My injuries do affect what I can do with them\u2014obviously I can\u2019t run down the road with them, but I just do other things. I love it, it\u2019s great. I just make the most of what I\u2019ve got. My experience has changed me in that respect\u2014I don\u2019t worry about little, trivial things. I don\u2019t get angry about what happened, because I feel lucky to be here. The other guys I was with died in that incident. I\u2019m still here, and I have Michelle and our kids, so I do just feel lucky to still be here.<\/p>\n
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Lance Corporal Martyn ComptonI was deployed in 2006 to Helmand, Afghanistan, with The Household Cavalry. I was 22 when I went out there. My role was a driver or radio operative. I had mixed feelings before I deployed. Nerves played a part, but I was also excited\u2014it\u2019s what I had joined the Army to do, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":3588,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3566","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n