A Loggerheads soldier has described the realities of life on the front line in Afghanistan.
Jonathan Jenkinson has just returned from a tour of duty with the Welsh Guards where a number of his colleagues have been killed or injured.
Jonathan, aged 35, who lives in Loggerheads with his wife Jessica, stepdaughter and two sons, was injured himself in July after an air attack by Taliban fighters.
He said: “It’s really good to be home because with the children growing up, it’s been harder and harder to go back.
“We went out to Afghanistan in April and before we went, we were told that we needed to write letters in case anything happened to us. I found it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do because before you go, it’s on your mind all the time that it could be the last time you see everyone.”
Jonathan joined the Welsh Guards when he was 16 after leaving Market Drayton’s Grove School and completed a 43-week induction in Surrey.
“The Army always appealed to me as I wanted to see a bit of the world and I was always into sport,” he said.
“My parents didn’t really want me to join but they were supportive in anything I wanted to do.”
Jonathan had served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq before his time in Afghanistan where seven of his colleagues have died.
Among them was commanding officer Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe MBE who died in a explosion in July.
“Any death is intolerable but people that you know is worse and it’s hard to get your mind back on what you’re out there for,” Jonathan said.
“The death of the commanding officer was massive because he was the highest ranking officer to die since the Falklands War.”
During his recovery from injury, Jonathan received a letter from the Prince of Wales acknowledging his bravery.
“The letter was quite a nice gesture because we had quite a few lads injured in Afghanistan and Prince Charles went out to visit them,” he said.
“It makes people aware of what we go through and I thought the letter was very special.”
By Winston Brown
