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A veteran interview with

Colin Parker

Colin used to love watching the trooping of the colour but coming from Hull had assumed a life on the docks was his lot. That all changed when he went into the army. He found a regiment he loved but it came at a cost because Colin is now living with PTSD.

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About Colin Parker

Collin Parker details his experience with PTSD as well as his tragic fall from invincible Coldstream Guard to being left for dead in the Middle East. Slaving away day after day at his foundry job pushed Collin to actualise his childhood infatuation with the Armed Forces and join the Coldstream Guards. This particular regiment had a violent and prideful reputation due to moulding their recruits to feel like nothing could hurt them, something Collin experienced first hand. 

Collin initially found it exciting to be on the battlefield until he was surrounded by Middle Eastern tribals and gravely injured by their mortar fire, the two teenagers soldiers under his command at the time not making it. Laying in the crater thinking about his family one last time Collin was fully convinced he had died but miraculously he survived. 

After the attack Collin had to relearn how to walk and talk and was then medically discharged and forced to deal with his new found PTSD alone. Having to accept that the army viewed him as expendable was extremely difficult for Collin; he felt so small and powerless after being discharged, he had lost everything and they did not care. Due to the way the Coldstream Guard trained him Collin never believed he would suffer from PTSD but now he was stuck constantly relieving the stress and fear from that day over and over. 

Credits

Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker
Reviewed by:
Leon Graham

Transcripts:
Please note that transcripts and closed captions in the video player are automatically generated by Vimeo.

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Home | Veterans | Colin Parker

A veteran interview with

Colin Parker

Screenshot

Colin used to love watching the trooping of the colour but coming from Hull had assumed a life on the docks was his lot. That all changed when he went into the army. He found a regiment he loved but it came at a cost because Colin is now living with PTSD.

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Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Parker, Colin. A Veteran Interview with Colin Parker. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, 12 Jan. 2011 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/colin-parker/. Accessed 18 Nov. 2025.
APA Style:
Parker, C. (2011, January 12). A Veteran Interview with Colin Parker [Interview by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee. Retrieved November 18, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/colin-parker/
Chicago Style:
Parker, Colin. 2011. A Veteran Interview with Colin Parker. Interview by Martin Bisiker. Legasee, January 12. Accessed November 18, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/colin-parker/
Harvard Style:
Parker, C. (2011). A Veteran Interview with Colin Parker. [Interviewed by Martin Bisiker]. Legasee, 12 January. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/colin-parker/ (Accessed: 18 November 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Parker, C. A Veteran Interview with Colin Parker [Internet]. Interview by M. Bisiker. Legasee; 2011 Jan 12 [cited 2025 Nov 18]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/colin-parker/
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