Let me go back to the warzone

Since leaving the army three years ago Peter Sherlock has been haunted by hallucinations of the day five of his friends were killed by Taliban bombs - the bloodiest day in the history of the Afghanistan campaign.

And the nightmares that leave him waking up drenched in a sweat of terror are made worse by the knowledge that he would have been there with them had it not been for heatstroke which kept him back at base.

Suffering from terrible guilt he wished it was his life claimed instead of his best mate 20-year-old Danny Simpson, known as Simo,who had recently fathered a baby boy.

The scenes he witnessed when the men were brought back will forever haunt him.

Untilthe end of the tour Peter volunteered to go on every patrol that left the base to avoid any further feelings of guilt.

He left the Army to escape the painful reminders but back in Southampton his life spiralled out of control turning to alcohol to drown out the horrors.

Now he has turned his life around, has fathered a daughter Hope Liberty, met love of his life Gemma Tyas and is determined he will serve on the frontline again.

“I’d love to go back out to Afghanistan. It sounds stupid because of what happened but I refuse to letthe nightmares defeat me.

“I would serve in any warzone in the world in honour of the five lads who died that day.

“It’s the lads and what you leave behind that makes you wantto go back in. I will never forget them.”

The date etched on Peter’s mind is July 10, 2009.

He had recovered from an arm injury he suffered when he was blasted on a patrol but heatstroke stopped him joining the platoon as they brought securityto the dangerous alleyways of the Wishtan bazaar in the Sangin district of Helmand Province.

That day just under 30 men were victims of Taliban bombs which killed five and injured dozens.

As the platoon left a disused compound a device planted by the Taliban exploded killing 18-year-old Rifleman James Backhouse.

Areserve force was scrambled but as the walking wounded set off for base a daisy chain of IEDs exploded killing Rifleman Daniel Simpson, Rifleman Joseph Murphy, 18, and Corporal Jonathan Horne, 28. Rifleman William Aldridge, 18, died later from his wounds.

Peter, said: “It’s a day you can never forget. It was horrific. After everything had happened you starttaking things in and I burstinto tears.

“I kept thinking I should have been the one on the patrol and maybe Simo would have made it back.”

When the 25-year-old leftthe Army his body was in one piece but his wounds were much deeper.

The sound of a firework was enough to deceive his senses and send him to the ground, primed to fire.

His nightmares were so vivid he felt lucky his mind was only so tormented when he was unconscious.

He explained: “I hit the drink hard. I became a bit of a recluse. I’d stay in by myself and drink myself stupid. I wouldn’t think twice about drinking a litre of vodka.

“You think alcohol helps you forget but there were times I had broken down into a complete and utter wreck.

I struggled for a long time.

“Once Simo had gone, it hit me hard because we did everything together. The whole point of the Army had gone for me. I decided I had enough. Looking back it was the wrong decision.”

Peter said it’s his fiancée Gemma who has given him the strength to fight for his dream.

And now the painter and decorator who works at Fawley Oil Refinery is applying to join The Royal Marines.

“She’s brought me back to earth and reminded me of who I am.

I’m trained as a soldier and enjoy doing what I do.

“She wasn’t too happy when I said I want to go back in but she said she will support me through anything and I know I will always have the five lads with me.”

 IT was the promise the two best friends made to each other- that they would forever cover each other’s backs.

And that is exactly what former soldier Peter Sherlock did when he got a poignant tattoo to honour his best friend Danny Simpson and other friends who were killed by Taliban bombs.

Peter, explained: “I remember one day he said ‘I’ve carried you this far, if anything happens to you I may aswell carry you the rest of the way, I’ll get a tattoo of your name on my back.’ We shook hands. I said ‘if anything happens to you I’ll get it for you too’.

“That was a laugh and a joke. I never thought I’d do it. When I came back after everything happened the first thing I did was go to the tattoo shop to get it.”

Rifleman Danny Simpson’s name is etched in the middle of a cross while the names of the other four fallen soldiers surround it.

The words “For our tomorrow they gave their today” are tattooed between his shoulder blades and the name of his regiment 2nd Battalion The Rifles and its motto Swift and Bold is inked below.