Mr Paul 'Tug' Hartley GM

Paul Hartley was born in 1980 in to a military family in Rinteln, West Germany, and was brought up in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

He Joined the Corps of Royal Engineers (RE) in 1997, before being posted to posted to 36 Engineer Regiment 50 HQ Squadron in Kent.

He served with the RE until 2003 when he transferred to the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), completing combat medical training in 2004.

He was posted to 16 Close Support Medical Regiment 23 PFA and deployed to Afghanistan in July 2004, serving in Kabul and Mazar Sharif.

After service in Oman, Kenya, and Lebanon, he returned to Afghanistan in 2006. In Kajaki Province in 2006, Paul was seriously injured whilst providing emergency aid to colleagues injured in a minefield. Despite the danger to himself he entered the minefield, continuing to provide medical treatment to others even after he was injured himself. For this outstanding display of courage he was awarded the George Medal (GM).

Paul was discharged from the Army in 2008, suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as result of the incident in 2006. He lives in West Yorkshire with his wife Dawn and their two young children.

On his decision to become the Patron of The Forgotten Heroes, Paul said:

"I was medically discharged from the army due to post traumatic stress disorder brought on by what happened that day in Kajaki. There was no help available for me once I left the service, and we need more support for our troops returning from theatre with life-changing injuries. I'm pleased to be able to offer my services as Patron to The Forgotten Heroes, to help soldiers such as me get the support they both need and deserve."

We are delighted to welcome Tug as our Patron, and thank him for his support.