Act of courage puts man from Muir of Ord who lost legs in Afghanistan bomb blast in frame for national bravery award
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A MAN from Muir of Ord is a contender for a national bravery award.
Duncan Slater, 42, was a sergeant in the RAF when he lost both legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan.
But this traumatic event has not prevented him from going on to do amazing challenges in aid of charity, and he has now been named as a finalist in the Amplifon Awards For Brave Britons 2021.
Mr Slater has reached the final four of the Act Of Courage category in global-hearing specialist Amplifon’s search for the Best of British heroes after raising many thousands of pounds for charities Help for Heroes, the RAF Benevolent Fund and Walk With The Wounded.
He will now be invited to the virtual awards presentation on Tuesday, October 5. The event will be hosted by BBC1 TV Breakfast and Radio 5 Live presenter Rachel Burden and Falklands War hero Simon Weston will be guest of honour.
Mr Slater who now lives in Diss, Norfolk, joined the RAF Regiment when he was 19 following in the footsteps of his dad and grandad who both served in the RAF.
In 2009 he broke almost every bone in his body and lost both legs when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in was struck by a roadside bomb in Helmand Province.
He said: “There were three of us in the vehicle but I was the only one who took the full force of the explosion as it went off directly underneath me.”
After spending five months in hospital and then recovery time at home, his friend Christopher Moore suggested they do a bike ride together. Not any bike ride but from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
“For me, it was just a case of ‘do your best’ but we cracked it in 10 days,” he said. “When we got to the top of Scotland my family, most of whom are from that area, were waiting for me. It gave me such a buzz.”
Since then he has completed the London Marathon, become the first double amputee to reach the South Pole and finished the gruelling Marathon de Sables in the Sahara desert.
For his incredible efforts Duncan was made a Honorary Freeman of Diss at the town's annual meeting with wife Kim, 37, and daughter Lilly, 11, looking on proudly.
As an ambassador for Walking With The Wounded he visits schools and businesses giving inspirational talks.
Mr Slater said: “I want to show you can be different and still go out and do things. I was the guy who instead of saying No, said Yes, and that's how I did what I did.”
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