Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Sergeant P. Trueman, Royal Army Medical Corps, a Special Forces trained medic who served with 22 S.A.S. on Classified Operations

South Atlantic 1982, with small rosette (24571839 Pte P Trueman RAMC); General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland (24571839 Sgt P Trueman RAMC) mounted court-style for display, minor edge nick to first, nearly extremely fine (2) £1,400-£1,800

Paul Trueman was born in Crewe, Cheshire, on 31 October 1961 and enlisted in his home town for the Royal Army Medical Corps on 27 May 1980. First posted to the super-lightweight ‘Spearhead’ Section of 19 Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps, Trueman initially served as a rapid response medic capable of being dropped by air. It was in this capacity that he deployed in 1982 to the Falklands with the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment. Whilst formally attached, the realities of war meant that Trueman was deployed as and where needed, commencing with a mission to Falkland Sound to treat injured S.A.S. personnel from a downed helicopter. A typed resume which accompanies the lot, adds: ‘I also treated the victims of H.M.S. Ardent.’

In January 1985, Trueman attempted the selection course for 22 S.A.S., his hopes thwarted weeks later by a tendon injury. Despite the forced withdrawal, he had impressed the Medical Officer enough to warrant the offer of transfer, resulting in his posting to the Medical Support Unit of ‘D’ Squadron, S.A.S., in May 1985. The posting resulted in two overseas deployments; to Jordan from 12 October 1986 to 28 November 1986, and Kenya from 29 July 1987 to 27 September 1987. The former involved the training of Jordanian Special Forces on HALO and HAHO jumps, the latter a series of parachute courses and training exercises in the region of Lake Tukana with ‘B’ Squadron, S.A.S.

Leaving Hereford in November 1987, Trueman was sent to Germany as Section Commander with 4th Armoured Field Ambulance. He returned to Worcester in 1989, tasked with meeting the medical needs of the general public during the protracted ambulance strikes. It was at around this time that he caught the attention of his superiors when he succeeded in restoring life via CPR after other medical personnel had pronounced life extinct; for this act of professionalism and perseverance, Trueman was awarded the General Officer Commanding’s Commendation for Distinguished Conduct beyond the call of normal duty. The man lived a further two years. The early 1990s witnessed Trueman continuing to use his medical training to help others; seconded to the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish Rangers, he witnessed their very first tour of Newry and was present when a vehicle checkpoint (Romeo 14) on the Dublin Road became the target of a devastating proxi-bomb. The subsequent blast resulted in the death of Ranger Smith and the wounding of many other men.

Unsurprisingly given all that he had witnessed, Trueman began to struggle with complex PTSD, perfectionism and depression. He left the army on 29 June 1992, his glowing reference paying a fitting testimony to ‘a very capable SNCO who is well respected by his peers and subordinates’. Rather than joining a busy civilian department - as recommended by his superiors - Trueman later became a successful author, detailing his life and military experiences in a number of publications. Perhaps the best known of these is Me and My Black Dog, Complex PTSD, published in 2016 under the nom de plume P. T. Saunders.

Sold with the recipient’s original Regular Army Certificate of Service, which details a further Regimental Commendation under Queen’s Regulations (1975); an original Certificate of Commendation, Western District, dated 7 December 1990; and over 20 colour photographs of the recipient on deployment.