In October 2009, Corporal Andy Reid MBE was blown up by a Taliban improvised explosive device while on patrol in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Injured so badly by losing his right leg below the knee, left leg above the knee, and right arm, it was thought he would not survive. However, he defied the odds to the extent that, within a month, he was able to meet up with members of his patrol again.

Andy won The Sun’s Millie Award for Overcoming Adversity in 2010 and has become a passionate Ambassador, speaker and fundraiser for the charity www.soldierscharity.org He is an accomplished motivational speaker and author of Standing Tall: the inspirational story of a true British Hero published in 2013.

In June 2019, Andy was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for voluntary service to veterans and to people with disabilities in St Helens. Andy is married with two children.