Seeing an enemy fighter killed before your eyes is a memory that time will never erase.

In 1991 Graham Clarke, now 49 and working in IT, was driving between Kuwait City and Basra with a senior soldier when they were ambushed by two Iraqis.

"We opened fire and they got killed," said Graham who was in Iraq with the 39 Regiment Royal Artillery.

"I still think about them today."

He left the army in 2000 after 23 years' service. But the transition back to civilian life was far from easy.

The horrors of war in Iraq, and in Bosnia, took their toll on Graham who had a breakdown.

Despite that, he considers himself to be one of the lucky ones.

Graham, now happily remarried and living in Glenfield, has settled into civvy street while some of those he served alongside are living on the street.

"A comrade of mine lives on the streets of London selling the Big Issue outside Marylebone Station because he could not adapt to life as a civilian," he said.

"Other guys I've known have just flipped their lid completely.

"After we came back from Iraq there was no debrief or proper support. We may have been asked if we were alright but, men being men, most will just say they are fine."

He was sent out to the Gulf in late 1990 as a vehicle technician.

But out of the blue Graham ended up on the front line carrying out reconnaissance work, finding spots for the artillery to set up their guns.

After the conflict ended, there was criticism of the coalition campaign's decision to leave Saddam Hussein in power.

"If we had been allowed to carry out the tasks our leaders had asked of us, the mess that country is in now would never have happened. But we were stopped by a UN mandate."

The son of an army man, Graham started his career in the armed forces with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). In 1982, he was attached to the Paras for nearly two years. Then, he was selected to join the Commandos on attachment, serving in Norway and Canada.

His tough reputation earned him respect when he was sent to the Gulf, where he served alongside raw recruits.

He went back to REME and ended up a Staff Sergeant – and the top electrician in the British Army, retiring in 2000.

This Sunday he will be paying his respects to the fallen in a service at St Peter's Church in Glenfield.