International Men’s Day – a Personal Perspective

As part of International Men’s Day, fieldwork archaeologist Duncan Andrews shares his personal experiences regarding mental health, war and archaeology.

“Talking about mental health has historically had an element of stigma attached to it, especially so when it comes to men. At the age of 14, I lost my mother to cancer. I was then pushed from pillar to post with guardians, followed by boarding school, until I joined the Army in 1984. In 1993 I also lost my father to cancer, having had six months of compassionate leave from the Army to care for him. What followed were a turbulent seven years, ending up in hospital, followed by alcohol rehab in 1995, and then a second period of rehab in 1999, amongst a host of disciplinary issues within the Army. Having previously asked for help in 1994, which I had been denied, I finally went from denial to acceptance in 1999, when I finally admitted that I had a problem. At this point things began to improve, this time with the full support of my senior commanders.

In 2004 I was deployed to Iraq. Of all the deployments that took place in Iraq, Op Telic 4 was one of the worst in terms of combat. That tour changed me forever, and I came back a very different person. Our Battalion suffered two dead, with eight dead from the wider Battlegroup, and 25% casualties in my Company. We saw combat most days, and were witness to things most people should never have to see.

Ultimately, war taught me a valuable lesson in life. If something is on your mind, talk to someone about it. I spoke to many people following that deployment about my experiences. Keeping your thoughts to yourself just makes it worse. Many soldiers on that tour of Iraq now have PTSD; I’m not one of them. The experience also made me realise not to worry about all of the trivial things in life – they’re not important. Why worry about it if you can’t do anything about it, or change it yourself? Try to keep your life as stress-free as possible. It works for me.

Now, I’m following my childhood dream of being an archaeologist, which originally started with my mother’s help in 1976. And to seal my destiny, 46 years later I signed my contract with CA on 24 May 2022– the day of my mother’s birthday! Thank you Mum”.