Founder & AmbassadorDarren Wright
My name is Darren Wright and I founded Veterans into Logistics after a close army colleague of mine, tragically was found dead less than a year after leaving the military.
I was born in 1975 in North Manchester and brought up by my dad on a typical northern council estate. I left school at 15 with no qualifications.
I joined the British Army, in the Royal Artillery aged 23. 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 young family.
During my military career, I earned the right to wear the Maroon Beret, became a member of the Airborne Forces and was deployed to Afghanistan after the Twin Towers attack as a member of The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
In 2003, I started having mental health issues and was referred to The Duchess of Kent Military Psychiatric Hospital in Catterick Garrison as an inpatient. After four weeks, I received an administrated discharge from the military.
At the beginning of 2004, after returning to my home city of Manchester, my mental state deteriorated further. My life spiralled out of control, and I became dependent on alcohol and drugs. My marriage broke down, which led me to become homeless and I ended up ‘sofa surfing’ with family and friends.
I wasn’t mentally fit for work, so I felt forced to look at alternative ways of earning money. After growing up on a council estate where criminality was considered the norm, it wasn’t long before I was lured into that life.
I was in such a bad state that I simply didn’t want to carry on living and in 2006 I received a prison sentence of 11 years and three months.
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. I walked through those prison gates looking forward to life and re-building a relationship with my children.
I was fortunate to have HGV licences from my career in the army and was able to gain secure employment as an HGV driver upon leaving prison. This gave me the structure, stability, and financial security I needed to rebuild my life.
I enjoyed being an HGV driver and the freedom of being on the road, eventually 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.
Then in 2018, I attended the funeral of my close military friend Jamie Doyle who had served 22 years in The Royal Artillery.
He was found dead at home, tragically being unable to cope less than 12 months after leaving the British Army.
Walking away from Jamie’s funeral, I knew more needed to be done for ex-military personnel who are struggling to adapt to civilian life and that’s why I founded Veterans into Logistics.
I believe my lived experience puts me in a good position to support veterans who are struggling to adapt to life back in the community.
I know that supporting them into a well-paid, structured and secure career in logistics, where they can support themselves and their families, gives them self-belief, pride and a whole new life after leaving the military.