I begged my comrades to shoot me in the head after a Taliban booby-trap blew off my legs and arm… but now I’m eternally grateful they DIDN’T

A hero Royal Marine who begged comrades to shoot him in the head after being blown up and losing three limbs says he is now living his best life and has ‘become the man he was always meant to be’.

Mark Ormrod, 40, was serving in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Christmas Eve in 2007 when he detonated a Taliban booby-trap that ripped off both his legs and his right arm. 

Medics pronounced him dead twice while evacuating him from the battlefield. However, despite his horrific injuries, the courageous Commando managed to pull through, becoming the UK’s first triple amputee to survive the war. 

Incredibly, in spite of being told by doctors he’d never walk again, Mark defied all the odds and used his prosthetic legs to march onto the parade ground and collect his tour of duty medal just five months after being blown.

Since then, he’s continued to astound, running 3,500 miles across the US and cycling 3,000 miles in the UK for charity – as well as competing in the Invictus Games, an athletics contest for wounded troops. 

His charity endeavours have even led to him working alongside Hollywood actor Tom Hardy, who he counts as a pal, and Prince Harry – who proudly dubbed Mark Britain’s own ‘superman’ after meeting the inspirational veteran while he was recovering.

Now, 16 years after cheating death, married father-of-three Mark revealed a potential TV programme about his life is in the works as he declared 2024 would be ‘his year’, adding: ‘I love being alive and I love my life. Losing my limbs made my life better.’

Mark Ormrod’s life changed forever on Christmas Eve, 2007, when he stepped on a hidden Taliban bomb which blew off both his legs and his right arm 

The Royal Marine was second in command on his patrol through Helmand Province, Afghanistan when he detonated the device. He was pronounced dead twice but eventually pulled through 

Now the married father-of-three has been reliving his miraculous escape as he marked the 16th anniversary of his brush with death with his family (Mark pictured with wife Becky, son Mason, 12 and daughter Evelyn, 10)

Mark says since losing his limbs, he has come to terms with his injuries and says he is now the man he was always meant to be (he is pictured with Prince Harry at the 2017 Invictus Games)

Mark was second-in-command of a patrol circling their remote Forward Operating Base when tragedy struck in 2007.

He triggered the hidden explosive after kneeling down on a patch of high ground, with the blast sending Mark flying through the air in a cloud of dust and debris, before falling back into a huge crater. 

Dazed, Mark thought he was under attack and scrambled to try find his rifle. It was only when the dust cleared that he realised the full horror of his situation – and the savage extent of his injuries.  

‘I was lying naked and dying in the desert. I just thought I can’t live like this. I turned to the corporal and shouted: “Stick a bullet through my head”,’ he says. 

‘I was serious. I remember lying there thinking that I would feel like someone had punched me in the back of the head and then it would go black and it would be okay.’

His comrades screamed ‘man down’ and a medic was rushed out from the base just a few minutes away.

Life-saving tourniquets were applied to his limbs and, despite the blood loss, Mark was able to take in the scene unfolding around him.

As his fellow Marines fought to save his life, Mark admitted he felt ’embarrassed’ and ‘ashamed’ at having triggered the bomb, which he feared now put his comrades in danger. 

‘I was starting to feel guilty. I only had one daughter, she was two. I was thinking about how can I have a relationship with her. All her life problems will be my fault. She will be bullied and picked on, this is all in 10 seconds,’ says Mark, of Plymouth.

‘It was guilt shame and embarrassment. I said “look, just shoot me”. I had put them in danger I would be a burden to my family I would have rather died a hero.’

Unbeknown to Mark and his fellow green berets, he was surrounded by six other mines which miraculously weren’t triggered during the operation to rescue him. The were only found by an America military team sent in to clear the area afterwards.

He can recall being lifted into a vehicle which drove him to an emergency helicopter. As it accelerated up a hill, Mark started to slide out – with a colleague managing to hold him inside by grabbing his shattered and exposed femur bone. 

After a herculean rescue effort, which saw Mark being pronounced dead twice, he was eventually flown to Birmingham’s Selly Oak Hospital, where all wounded servicemen are treated.

Waking up, he was greeted by his loving partner Becky, who was seven months pregnant. ‘I proposed to her in that moment. I didn’t really know what was going on. It just seemed like the right thing to do,’ Mark recounts.

Despite his Christmas Eve ordeal, upbeat Mark insists he was not traumatised by it – and says his injuries have never blighted festive celebrations with wife Becky, 37,  their two children Mason, 12, and Evelyn, 10, and Mark’s daughter Kezia, 18. 

‘It’s a celebration at Christmas. It’s a time to be grateful and celebrate survival and be thankful to those men and women and everyone who saved me,’ adds Mark, whose home is always full of festive decorations. 

Despite his Christmas Eve ordeal, upbeat Mark insists he was not traumatised by and loves celebrating the festive season (Mark is pictured with son Mason, 12, wife Becky, and daughter Evelyn, 10)

Mark was told he would never walk again. But he defied all expectations and just five months after his life-changing injuries marched onto the parade square to collect his medals (right)

The proud Royal Marine is pictured recovering at home in 2008 with then fiance Becky and his cheeky little daughter Kezia

Mark is pictured with his loving wife Becky, who has stood by his side loyally since he was injured 

‘It’s a time to reflect on the last 16 years and what life could have been. It’s a time to get excited for the future. 

‘For me, there’s no sadness about Christmas. There’s no sadness about what happened to me. It’s a great time. I love being alive and I love my life.’. 

Mark spent weeks in hospital recovering, with his heavy pain medication leading to baffling hospital bed hallucinations – including a trio of ‘Will Smiths’, medics with ‘waste bins for heads’ and an 8ft bottle of ketchup in his room. ‘It was just mental,’ he says. 

Commando spirit: Mark Ormrod says he drew on a Royal Marine pillar – cheerfulness in the face of adversity – to overcome his injuries 

Mark, who was with the Taunton-based 40 Commando, was told by doctors he would never walk again. Determined to prove them wrong, the Marine drew on one of the four pillars of the elite naval unit: ‘cheerfulness in the face of adversity’. 

Defying all expectations, the triple amputee learned to walk on his new artificial limbs and just five months later, was on the parade ground with his comrades receiving his military campaign medal. 

‘I remember thinking about the history of the Royal Marines. I never read about anyone who let the side down and gave up and quit,’ Mark said. 

‘I thought I would take these values and professional standards and apply them to my rehabilitation. I wanted to show them all what It means to be a Royal Marines Commando.’

Since losing his limbs, Mark has gone on to incredible things in his personal life – which has seen him winning awards for raising more than £500,000 for charity. 

He has become firm friends with Prince Harry, who is the founder of the Invictus Games, and was pictured smiling with the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle in September, with the trio even singing Sweet Caroline together as they watched 2023’s tournament.   

Prince Harry (left) once called Mark Britain’s very own ‘Superman’ after first meeting him. The pair have remained pals since, and were sat next to one another at the 2023 Invictus Games 

Mark (left) even shock hands with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle as they cheered on competitors at the contest in Duesseldorf, Germany, in September 

Mark first met Prince Harry and his brother Prince William (middle) during his time recovering at Hedley Hospital in April 2008, four months after his legs and arm were blown off

Despite his injuries, Mark has continued to astound, completing gruelling charity challenges (he is pictured at his home in December 2023)

More recently, Mark has become a trustee of Reorg, a charity that helps military and emergency service personnel through the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu – a form of wrestling he has grown to love, despite only having one arm. 

And his work with the charity has seen him pairing up with fellow trustee and Hollywood star Tom Hardy, 46. 

Speaking of his celebrity pals, Mark said: ‘It doesn’t feel surreal to know Tom Hardy and Prince Harry. I don’t know why. They’re just normal people. You can see these people on television and put them on this pedestal. Some people can freak out. 

‘Prince Harry and his brother were so chilled out. They’re just normal people. They have the same fears and doubts I have and the same insecurities. They’re all regular people trying to get through their life.’

As well as his charity work, Mark is also doing his bit to support wounded Ukrainian servicemen – with plans to visit the country to speak to troops who have lost limbs during their fight against Russia. 

Actor Tom Hardy with triple amputee Royal Marine Mark Ormrod who was blown up in Afghanistan

Mark (right) is a trustee of the Reorg charity alongside Hollywood star Hardy (left). The group helps injured military and emergency service personnel through Brazilian jiu-jitsu (Reorg founder Sam Sheriff, middle, a former Royal Marine)

Mark’s work with Reorg has taken him across the globe. He is pictured second from left with the World’s Strongest Man Eddie Hall, left, former UFC champion Mike Bisping, right, and founder of Reorg charity Samuel Sheriff (second from right)

Mark, 40, from Plymouth says there were plans in the works to potential bring his story to the small screen as part of a new TV drama 

He added he has plans to publish a new book about his life story – and that TV producers were in the early stages of making a programme about his incredible battle for survival. 

‘Next year it feels like it’s all about to fall into place and I feel like I will be catapulted and go up to the next level and live this insane life… 2024 feels like it’s going to be my biggest year yet,’ he said. 

Despite his life of hardship, optimistic Mark insists that the struggles and adversity he has faced – and overcome – has only made him stronger.  

‘It’s a funny thing adversity. A lot of people shy away from it because it is hard and uncomfortable. The first thing a lot of people do is give up and quit,’ he adds. 

‘But there’s magic in adversity and being more resilient. It forces you to become the person you are meant to be and release you who you were meant to be. That’s who I’ve become now.’