A SOLDIER from Sipson spending Christmas in Afghanistan has spoken of the long days on the front line.

Captain Luke Wilson, (pictured), a signals officer with the 21 Engineer Regiment, is serving his second tour there.

Stationed in Helmand Province, he said that the place had changed in the three years since he was first deployed there.

“Camp Bastion has got larger but is essentially still a tent city in the desert. We have a lot better equipment than when I was here last time, and this is undoubtedly contributing towards progress on the ground.”

Speaking about everyday life in the camp, he said: “There is an awful lot going on here at the moment and just keeping track of it is a mammoth task in itself. They are long days but very short weeks and as a result time is flying by.

“It is good to see that the people of the UK continue to support us, as there are times when it is tough being away from home for such an extended period.

“Christmas is especially tough for the youngest soldiers, for many of whom it is their first time away from home.”

Luke, 27, is normally based at Claro Barracks, Ripon, where he is posted with his girlfriend, Captain Ashley Greenwood.

When back home in Sipson, Luke, 27, is a regular at The King William IV pub, in Sipson Road, which in the past has collected more than 100 parcels of supplies to send out to the troops.

A keen sportsman and a qualified skydiver, Luke has also been posted to Canada, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Austria and Cyprus since completing his army training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2008.

* Do you have friends or family serving in the armed forces overseas this Christmas? www.uxbridgegazette.co.uk/tellus, or call the nesdesk on 01895 451036.