Two Royal Navy veterans have spoken of their experiences during the Iraq War as commemorations were held to mark the 15th anniversary of the conflict's end. The service took place at the National Memorial Arboretum, with 179 British service personnel having been killed and 6,000 injured during the war.
Celia Mitchell, 65, served as a medic at 34 Field Hospital in Shaibah, the first British medical unit to operate ahead of the front line since the Crimean War. She described being two miles in front of the front line while treating Iraqi civilians. On one occasion, a patient she was helping tried to slash her throat with a razor blade. She narrowly avoided the attack and defended herself with a steel bedpan.
Ms Mitchell said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder 12 years after returning from Iraq. She spoke of having 'dark days' and bursting into tears without knowing why, adding that while her body came home, her mind remained there. She expressed relief that British troops had not been sent to Iran, describing it as 'not our war'.
Janet Riddell, 59, also a Royal Navy veteran, was travelling in a Black Hawk helicopter when it was shot down by small arms fire outside Baghdad. The crash badly injured both of her knees, and after years of pain her right leg was amputated in 2017. She recalled how the pilot managed to land the helicopter despite the bullets hitting the rotor blades, but the impact was enormous.
Despite her injuries, Ms Riddell continued to serve, not wanting another person to be deployed in her place, especially as a colleague was undergoing IVF treatment. She described enduring constant mortar fire in Baghdad, including an intensification after the execution of Saddam Hussein. She and a friend jokingly referred to clinging to each other during attacks as 'the Baghdad dance'.
