Former Shropshire soldier among the poppies at Tower of London ceremony
He lost a leg when he was caught up in a roadside explosion in Afghanistan. And retired Captain Anthony Harris also lost comrades during the British war effort there.
So it was a poignant moment for the former Adams' Grammar School pupil when he was chosen to be among those present when the final poppy was planted at the Tower of London.
Captain Harris, 33, is an ambassador for Help for Heroes and the British Limbless Ex-Servicemen's Association.
He was invited to take part in the Remembrance service because of his links with Tower of London, where his regiment the Royal Fusiliers is headquartered and where his two children were christened.
The former soldier, who was born in Shrewsbury and now lives in Newport, was among those invited to stand by and watch as the last poppy in the Tower's display by artist Paul Cummings, entitled Blood-Swept Lands and Seas of Red, was placed in the ground of the moat by 13-year-old cadet Harry Hayes.
As a pupil at Adams' Grammar School, Anthony Harris had always planned to enter the Army.
But his career ended in 2009, aged 28, when an explosion in Afghanistan blasted him 20 metres out of his vehicle and left him fighting for life.
After 10 months and at least 20 operations it eventually cost him his leg, which was amputated below the knee.
Since then he has become an ambassador for Help for Heroes, a rally driver, a gold-winning sportsman, a mountain climber and a motivational speaker.
"It's not the ideal change," he said. "But overall it's been positive."
Talking about yesterday's poppy ceremony he said: "It's a huge honour to have been selected to pay tribute to the service men and women who serve in today's conflicts and those who lost their lives."
Yesterday Captain Harris also appeared on ITV's This Morning alongside his wife Liz and their two children – Emily, five, and Felix, seven – to talk about his injury and how it has affected friends and family.
He finished the day meeting rock star/photographer Bryan Adams at a reception promoting Adams' book Wounded: The Legacy of War. Proceeds will go to charity.
Since losing his leg Captain Harris has helped establish Race2Recovery, a group of injured ex-servicemen who, in 2013, became the first disabled team to complete the Dhaka Rally. This year he was part of the UK's gold-winning sitting volleyball team at the first Invictus Games. And last August he did a charity climb of the 4,164 metre-high Mt Toubkal in Morocco.
Captain Harris has been making a living as a motivational speaker, but is still open about a future career.
He said: "I've always wanted to be in the Army. Now it's trying to find something else I want to do."
