Oxfordshire veteran fears he lost his legs in Afghanistan 'for nothing'

And he questioned the view that the sacrifices had not been in vain.

Former Royal Engineer Jack Cummings, 33, said it was “a blessing in disguise” that he can’t remember the day he was injured in a bomb blast.

He was in a coma and woke up a month later in Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital. When Kabul fell on Saturday it was the 11-year anniversary – or Bangaversary as he calls it with squaddie humour – of that day.

Jack Cummings

He and wife Sarah, who comes from Brize Norton, usually go to a quiet pub. Earlier this week, he tweeted: “Was it worth it, probably not. Did I lose my legs for nothing, looks like it. Did my mates die in vain. Yep. On my 11th Bangaversary it’s a very somber one. Many emotions going through my head, anger, betrayal sadness to name a few…."

About 150,000 British military personnel served in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, and 457 were killed.

He also tweeted that Boris Johnson and the US President have "come and said they didn’t die in vain, you say that face to face to a grieving wife or mum. Many of my mates are ****** in the head from seeing ****** up s**t! They will never forget.”

During two tours – the first aged 19 and the second aged 21 – his job was to find and dispose of improvised explosive devices.

It was a job he loved that “got the adrenaline pumping” and he “hoped made a difference”. “It’s a hard job to do, people can lose an arm or a leg.

We were hoping we were winning, but I was not there to have a scrap but to protect people,” he said.

He added: “I have lost my legs, and lost friends – two great guys Cpl Jamie Kirk Partick and Sgt Brett Linley – and I will be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life.”

But his concern was for the 600 paras who have been sent to Afghanistan now.

He said: “I hope they come home safe and sound as soon as possible and bring out as many people as possible, especially the interpreters who put their own lives and their families’ lives at risk by helping us.”

While he knew forces “couldn’t stay forever”, he said, “we have probably come out the wrong way”.

“There’s no easy way of doing it,” he said. “Whether we came out too quickly is a decision above my pay grade.”

But he questions how ‘easy’ it was for the Taliban to take over. “We trained up the Afghan army, gave them the best equipment, we spent millions, just to see it collapse so easily.”

He said he was proud to have served in the British Army – “the best in the world” – but watching events unfold this week had been tough.

Oxford United fan Mr Cummings, who took part in archery and swimming at Prince Harry’s 2017 Invictus Games and won a bronze in breaststroke, has also cycled from Paris to London and completed the London Marathon.