Andy Peat GM

A soldier gave Bear Grylls his last capful of water. The detail I cannot shake happened during Grylls’s time with 21 SAS. His patrol was crossing a scorching desert. Their extraction point was about 20 miles away. Grylls was badly dehydrated and struggling to keep moving. Sergeant Chris Carter stopped the patrol. Although he was thirsty too, he insisted that Grylls drink the final capful from his own bottle. That choice floors me. Carter gave away the last of something his own body desperately needed, with no fuss and no audience. Grylls said the kindness gave him more strength than the water itself. He went on to climb Everest, become a household name and serve as Honorary Colonel of the Army Foundation College, where young soldiers begin their Army lives. Carter was later killed in Afghanistan. Grylls eventually told his family what their son had done in that desert. That breaks my heart, but it also fills me with pride. His family learnt that when nobody was watching, Carter used what little he had left to keep another man going. Armed Forces Day honours serving personnel, veterans, reservists, cadets and their families. I think this one quiet act explains why that whole community matters better than any slogan could. The toughest man in the patrol chose kindness. Decades later, the man he helped is still telling us his name.