Radio advert - David's story » Lance Corporal David Timmins starred in the 2010 Scottish Poppy Appeal radio advert, telling the story of how the poppy can rebuild his life.
David has served with the Royal Logistics Corp since 2003. In that time he has embarked on two operational tours in Afghanistan, in 2006 and 2009. He suffered serious injuries as a result of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in Sangin district on 19th July 2009.
L/Cpl Timmins’ family has a long tradition of military service, with both his grandfathers and a great uncle having served in the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Army respectively.
After leaving school David trained as a diesel engineer and spent time working in Holland. He returned to his home town of Neilston and aged 23 opted for a career change by joining the Army. He initially worked as a as a driver in the Royal Logistics Corp but in October 2008 decided to become a bomb disposal specialist.
David said: “The excitement and thrill of that type of job is what appealed to me, and it was one of the most respected positions in the Army. It also meant I would be posted to Edinburgh so it was nice being closer to my family and friends after living away from Scotland for so long.”
Having completed his training David was then posted to Afghanistan where he would be responsible for disposing of some of the thousands of IED’s set by the Taliban. As a result of his actions one day in early July 2009 he was awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal. During an operation to clear a route for supply vehicles a colleague from the Welsh Guards was critically injured in an explosion. David recognised the femoral artery had been severed and stemmed the bleeding, saving the casualty’s life.
Only days later, David required a similarly quick response from his colleagues to save his own life. Having successfully cleared two separate areas of IED’s already that day, his unit were helicoptered to assist at a third location where IED’s had been detected. While proceeding with his unit to deal with the bomb, a concealed IED was detonated and Corp Timmins was critically injured. The blast also injured four of his colleagues, and in the aftermath further explosions in the same area killed one and injured two more.
David was taken to Camp Bastion field hospital and within 12 hours of the explosion he had been transferred to Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham, where he was placed in intensive care. He was in an induced coma for 12 days while his family held vigil at his bedside. Nearly a fortnight after the explosion David awoke.
He recalls: “Initially, I had no idea what had happened. The last thing I knew I was in Afghanistan, the next thing I woke up in hospital in the UK with my family at my bed. My unit was so tight – the nature of our work meant that we did everything together. If someone went for a brew, we all went for a brew. We needed to be able to move out as a unit the second a call came in. To then wake up in a different country and try to figure out what had happened was confusing and traumatic”.
David suffered 22 separate injuries, including a shattered jaw and cheekbone and the loss of his right eye. He remained in hospital for 10 weeks before being allowed to return home. Over the following year David spent seven months at Hedley Court and a further two months at the Army Recovery Centre in Edinburgh.
While he continues his recuperation David has secured a house in Glasgow and has enrolled at Reid Kerr College in Paisley where he will begin an HNC in nursing in August 2010. Following this one year course his condition will be reviewed by an Army Medical Board to establish if he can continue his military career.
David said: “If I continue in the army I’d like to move to Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital and specialise in the psychological treatment of wounded servicemen and women. I feel like my experiences combined with the medical training will allow me to help others who are going through something similar to what I went through.”
For more information on the 2011 Scottish Poppy Appeal click here.
