Founder & CEODarren Wright
My name is Darren Wright, Founder of Veterans into Logistics.
I was born in 1975 at Crumpsall Hospital, North Manchester. My parents split up when I was five years old, and I was brought up by my dad on a typical northern council estate. I left school at 15 with no qualifications.
Everyone has their reasons for joining the military – I had two. Firstly, I had always wanted to serve Queen and Country. Secondly, I wanted my young family to be brought up in a better environment than the one I was brought up in.
Growing up my dream was to join the British Army. Three of my uncles served in the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment. I remember spending time at Catterick Garrison, watching the soldiers marching, and hearing gunshots from the firing ranges. I planned to join up as a boy soldier at 16. But getting into a relationship and starting a family at ayoung age prevented this as the mother of my child didn’t want me to join the military.
Time went by and the burning desire to be in the British Army never left me. At age 23 I joined the Royal Artillery. I completed my basic training at Pirbright, passing out as Best Recruit. I remember the passing out parade as if it were yesterday, marching on to the parade square, listening to the military band, and feeling the proudest I’d ever felt, knowing I was starting a new life for myself and my family.
I was posted to 21 Air Assault Battery RA, which provided Air Defence to 16 Air Assault Brigade. I completed the All Arms P-Company in 1999, earning the right to wear the Maroon Beret, and becoming a member of the Airborne Brotherhood.
In the wake of the Twin Tower attack on September 11th, 2001, the Americans, along with their British allies, started the ‘War on Terror. I was deployed to Afghanistan in January 2002 as a member of The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
In 2003, I started having mental health issues, which led me to be referred to The Duchess of Kent Military Psychiatric Hospital in Catterick Garrison as an inpatient. I spent four weeks there before receiving an administrated discharge from the military.
At the beginning of 2004, after returning to my home city of Manchester, my mental state deteriorated. My life spiralled out of control. I became dependent on alcohol and drugs, and my marriage broke down, which led me to become homeless. I ended up ‘sofa surfing’ with family and friends. I wasn’t mentally fit for work, so I was forced to look at alternative ways of earning money. After growing up on a council estate where criminality was the normality, it wasn’t long before I was lured into criminality myself.
In 2005, I was in such a bad state that I simply didn’t want to carry on living. My life continued to deteriorate and in 2006 I received 11 years and three months prison sentence.
I regret the crime I committed but receiving a custodial sentence saved my life because it was in prison where I was correctly diagnosed with suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). This enabled me to receive medical treatment that put me on the road to recovery. I served a total of six years.
After being released from prison in 2012, I was the Darren Wright of old before I had endured mental health issues. I walked through those prison gates looking forward to life and re-building a relationship with my children.
I was fortunate to attend the Ministry of Defence School of Transport at Leconfield where I gained my HGV licences which enabled me to gain secure employment as an HGV driver upon leaving prison, this gave me structure, stability, and financial security which I needed to rebuild my life.
I enjoyed being an HGV driver, I enjoyed the freedom of being on the road. Eventually, I found myself becoming a Fuel Tanker Driver delivering to petrol stations. This job paid well earning over fifty thousand pounds a year which for someone who left school without any qualifications I considered a good wage.
In 2018, I attended the funeral of Jamie Doyle, a friend whom I had served alongside in the military. Jamie had just completed 22 years in the British Army and within less than twelve months of leaving the military, he was found dead at home.
Iwalked away from Jamie’s funeral thinking more needs to be done for ex-armed military personnel that struggle with the transition after leaving the armed forces.
I struggled with the transition where I hit rock bottombefore overcoming the battles I had in my head. I consider myself fortunate to be alive today!But it is having gotten through those difficult years and coming out the other end has made me the person I am today.
I believethe lived experience I have puts me in a good position to support veterans who are struggling to adapt to the community as I have been there myself.