From the start he used to tell us he was 'very busy' which I knew was a euphemism for them being under constant pressure. They were engaging the Taliban on a daily basis.
It was relentless but he did not talk about things in too much detail, partly for security reasons but mainly because he didn't want to worry us, particularly his mother. When he was home for two weeks in July there was what I can only describe as a cloud surrounding him. He had lost weight, although there was not anything wrong with him physically. I think he was just under extreme pressure. He said to me once that when they weren't actually fighting the Taliban they were worried about getting shot at.
When he went back in July we had a few phone calls, but you could tell by his cracked voice that they were under even more pressure than before. The fighting was unrelenting.
The Anglians have lost men but I would put that down to nothing more than bad luck. The Taliban were never going to walk out of Helmand and the Royal Anglians have drawn the straw of dealing with this period, when they have [been] trying to assert their muscle. Simply, the music has stopped with them. But they have dealt with it absolutely incredibly. A lot of these lads have had few opportunities in life, yet they have been taken into the regiment and achieved amazing things.
I know there has been talk of David being awarded a Victoria Cross but we will have to wait - and it won't bring him back for us.
