A Squaddies Obsession

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About the author

Richard A. Dare

Richard A. Dare was born in Barking, Essex. He grew up in a mixture of households between his mother and father. His whole childhood revolved around uniformed organisations such as St John Ambulance, Police Cadets and the Marine Cadets. His sole dream was to join the British military and serve the Queen. The passion of a royalist led his dreams to be a Soldier. This path choice wasn’t popular with his parents. His mother wanted him to be a Police Officer and the father wished him to become a Paramedic. His family lived off the very basic and the father who he lived with for the majority of his childhood always put the kids first despite if it meant his own suffering. Richard left the Royal Liberty School in Romford in 2001 and finally joined the Infantry in 2003.

Unfortunately, due to some injuries including a long-term brain injury sustained in Op Herrick 6, Afghanistan. His planned 22 years of service ended in just a few years. A mortar landed head high half a metre from him. The blast killed all the cells around my brain and split the main artery. Brain surgery was conducted in Bastion Camp Hospital before being flown back to QE Birmingham. He spent the next year learning his general motor skills including the use of his limbs, speech and memory in Headley Court and Garforth Brain Injury Unit.

Thanks to the tutors in Stephen’s College in Leicestershire he completed Access to Nursery & Midwifery course improving his English grammar in 2011. Richard then completed BSc (hon) Applied Criminology in Investigation in the University of Derby where he learned policing skills by studying Certificate of Knowledge of Policing along with other subjects and mock scenes in Crime scene management, psychology, and victimology etc in 2014.

            Both work and home environments worsened in 2015 due to PTSD symptoms. He eventually ended up in Combat Stress in 2016. It was during this time he started to write his night terrors down and that is how his first book A Squaddie’s Obsession came to be a reality. Richard started his own private investigation business in 2018 but was unfortunately terminated due to further medical issues and the Covid pandemic. Finally, after struggling through his medical, home environment and multiple lockdowns he has finished the book in 2021.