Pete Dunning

As anyone at Serve On will tell you, never bet against Pete Dunning.

Pete joined the Royal Marines and served in Afghanistan in 2007-2008. A few days before the end of his second tour, Pete's Viking vehicle was blown up. Pete lost both lower legs and broke his back.

“You’ve never lived until you’ve nearly died – that’s why I do everything I do to the best of my ability.”

Flown back as an emergency to Birmingham’s Selly Oak Hospital, Pete had to lie flat on his back for five weeks while his spine, held together with small rods and screws, knitted.

Then, within hours of being well enough to be given a wheelchair, he was off shopping in the city centre.

He learned to walk on prosthetic limbs at the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court. Exactly 50 weeks to the day after his injury, Pete returned to the Royal Marines in an administrative role at the Fleet Naval Air Squadron in Yeovilton. Again, he could have settled into a quiet life.

Instead, Pete flew off to Bavaria with Battle Back – a MOD initiative to give seriously injured soldiers and sailors adventure training and sporting opportunities – and set off for the slopes, “curious” about how he would fare at skiing.

Three months later, after two weeks’ experience of rocketing down the piste on a mono-ski specially designed for double amputees, he successfully trialled for the Combined Services Disabled Ski Team.

Since then, Pete has competed in the Invictus Games playing wheelchair rugby, gained an Open University Degree and trained and passed his qualification to be an IRT member at Serve On.