Life Guards veteran · Independent local campaigner
I served my country for over 18 years in the British Army and was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross in Afghanistan. Today I live in The Wrekin and campaign for the people who call it home.
Eighteen years in uniform and the day in 2006 that changed my life.
Read the record → PrioritiesJustice for victims, our countryside, our veterans and fair local services.
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Get in touch →About Andy
The Household Cavalry Museum · Soldiers' StoriesAndrew "Andy" RadfordMy interview for The Household Cavalry Museum, telling the story of my service and the 2006 ambush in Helmand.Watch on YouTube →
I'm proud to have served my country in the British Army for over 18 years. It was a career that didn't just shape me; it defines who I am. It gave me the values I still live by: honesty, loyalty, selfless commitment, resilience and dedication.
I grew up in Staffordshire, the son of a British Rail worker and a social worker, and left school at sixteen to join the Army. I served as a reconnaissance specialist with The Life Guards, part of The Household Cavalry, and deployed to some of the most hostile places on earth, including Iraq and Afghanistan. Like many who have served, I lost close friends.
"The Wrekin isn't just a name on a map. It's where we live, and I will always fight for everyone who calls it home."
Those same values now guide my work as a local campaigner. I act because I care about the future for my family and the life my grandchildren will have if we do nothing now. I don't believe in spin or point-scoring. I believe in standing up for local people and doing the right thing, even when it is difficult.
I'm already writing the letters and making the calls: challenging councillors, our MP and government departments. If they fail to act in your interest, I will ask them why. Away from campaigning I run Radography, a photography and video studio, and I'm studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics with the Open University.
Service record
The most highly decorated soldier in the history of The Life Guards.
Begins with the Royal Engineers.
Operational tour of Northern Ireland with the Royal Engineers.
Deploys to Iraq with the Royal Engineers.
Transfers to The Life Guards, The Household Cavalry, as a reconnaissance soldier.
Under sustained Taliban fire, rescues a gravely wounded comrade from a destroyed vehicle.
Award published in the London Gazette. The CGC is second only to the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
Mounted ceremonial duties with The Household Cavalry in London.
Individual deployment to Iraq.
Indian Ocean, Strait of Hormuz and Horn of Africa.
A serious fall from a horse leads to the loss of his right leg.
Begins intensive treatment for PTSD from Afghanistan, and physiotherapy to learn to walk again.
Medically discharged after more than 18 years of service.
Rebuilds life after the Army and creates a small family business.
Working for the community across The Wrekin and Shropshire.
The action
London Gazette, 15 December 2006
Lance Corporal of Horse Andrew Radford, The Life Guards
Conspicuous Gallantry Cross
Helmand Province, Afghanistan
In 2006, as part of the first task force into Helmand Province, my troop was helping to extract British and Danish troops from Musa Qal'eh when we were ambushed. The lead vehicles were hit by rocket-propelled grenades, machine-gun fire and a roadside bomb. Three of my comrades were killed just metres from me. They had overtaken my vehicle only seconds before.
The driver, Trooper Martyn Compton, was gravely wounded and trapped around 70 metres away, caught between Taliban and friendly fire. I ran through the fighting to reach him and, with covering fire from a colleague, got him back to our vehicle and on to the treatment that saved his life.
The experience stayed with me. Like many veterans I battled PTSD. Some twenty years on I'm in a good place, and I speak openly about it because I want other veterans to know that help works and that asking for it is a strength.
What I stand for
I will listen, I will act, and I will be accountable for what I do. These are the commitments I campaign on, nationally and here at home.
Immigration
Economy
Energy
Countryside
Law & order
Health
Defence
Liberty
Democracy
The Wrekin
I live in a country cottage surrounded by farmland in The Wrekin, and I'm raising my family here. We live in one of the most beautiful parts of England. It deserves to be protected and cherished, for us, for our children and for generations to come.
From our market towns to our villages and farms, I want local people to have a stronger say in the decisions that shape their lives. No issue is too small, and no challenge too great.
I will listen, I will act, and I will be accountable for what I do.
News & letters
Letters, campaigns and press coverage from my work across The Wrekin.
When I write to Mark Pritchard on behalf of residents, these are some of the replies I have received. Quoted exactly as written.
"I am not elected to serve Reform's local or national political agenda in your publicly 'unelected' role as Chairman of Reform for The Wrekin."
"From today, my response will remain the case for all future emails you might send, unless, and until, I am satisfied, and it is very clear to me (not you), that you are writing to me outside of Reform's ongoing local or national political agenda. This will be for my judgement."
"Therefore, you will not be admitted to the meeting."
"I note your intention to 'raise questions on behalf of the residents of Dutton Close and The Wrekin as a whole'. As you hold no elected office, you have no basis to be able to do that."
"Security staff will conduct ID checks at the entrance to the Parish Hall, so it would be unfortunate if you were to make a wasted journey."
"I recently heard you were allegedly asked to leave/or left the Reform Party in The Wrekin? Is that the correct version of events?"
Submitted my proposal for an Armed Forces Veterans Village for review, one of several plans I have developed for veterans, war widows and their families.
Asked Cllr Heather Kidd to publish the evidence used to remove the three affordable homes required under the original planning permission at Dutton Close, and to confirm which Section 106 obligations still apply. She has offered to connect residents with a rural housing officer and passed the planning questions to officers.
Asked Angela Rayner to intervene in Enfield Council's plan to place families at Dutton Close. The Home Office had already withdrawn the site from asylum use on 10 July after residents campaigned, and Shropshire Council has formally opposed Enfield's proposal.
Asked both local MPs to demand that the national inquiry comes to The Wrekin and investigates every failure, including those still ongoing. Mark Pritchard replied on 7 October.
Challenged the handling of the proposed 800-home development on green belt land at Albrighton, now before the Secretary of State after the council refused permission.
Read the article →Asked what Home Office guidance is given to people housed at the Whitehouse Hotel in Wellington and in HMOs across The Wrekin, and what safeguarding is in place for local residents.
Called for the Home Secretary's ban on housing asylum seekers in new-build homes to apply in full to the 21 new homes at Dutton Close.
Wrote to Shabana Mahmood asking that Telford and The Wrekin are included in the first phase of the national grooming gang inquiry.
Requested West Mercia Police's unpublished historic figures on CSE cases and outcomes, and the Home Office data behind the reported 2015 finding that Telford had the highest recorded rate in the country.
Proposed a straightforward fix to the Hortonwood and Halesfield access row: a cost-sharing agreement between Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council. Mark Pritchard replied on 27 April.
The Shropshire Star reports on the museum's exhibit on recent gallantry award recipients, including my account of the 2006 ambush.
Read the article →Asked why our MPs had taken no formal action over the possible early release of Ahdel Ali, convicted of grooming, trafficking and abusing around 100 girls in our area, when it fell to the council to oppose it.
Wrote to John Healey asking for the citations of every CGC recipient to be released, so the first ever book on the medal and the people who earned it can be written. In March 2025 the Ministry of Defence refused my Freedom of Information request for access to the citations.
Media, writing & speaking
I speak about service, gallantry, recovery from PTSD and life after injury, and about local issues in Shropshire. Get in touch to book a talk or event.
Enquire about an event →I'm writing a book on the recipients of the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, and an investigative book on the Telford grooming gang scandal.
Join the mailing list for updates →Radography is my photography and videography studio, producing film, interviews and campaign content.
Get in touch
If you have a local concern, need help, or want to discuss an event, send me a message. I read every one.