ONE music-mad Swindonian has swapped his guitar for a gun to serve alongside the Gurkhas in Afghanistan.

Army musician Liam Compson, of Even Swindon, is serving on his first operational tour of duty as a cover gunner providing protection for the Combat Logistics Patrols (CLP).

The other band members thought I was mental volunteering for Afghanistan. However, I have always wanted to do my bit, and show that Army musicians are soldiers first

Liam Compson

The other band members thought I was mental volunteering for Afghanistan. However, I have always wanted to do my bit, and show that Army musicians are soldiers first

Liam Compson

The former St Joseph’s pupil has been a member of the Corps of Army Music since he was 16 but is also a professional soldier, having completed the same basic training as other soldiers.

Speaking from Camp Bastion about his six-month secondment to 10 The Queen’s Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, Liam said: “The other band members thought I was mental volunteering for Afghanistan. However, I have always wanted to do my bit, and show that Army musicians are soldiers first.

“Since I deployed, there has been a queue of people wanting to come out here. The Gurkhas are really welcoming, and there’s some great camaraderie. Everyone looks out for each other.”

Liam, 20, freely admits that he likes to get his full quota of sleep. However, he says that the life of a top cover gunner is worlds apart from his day-to-day life with the band.

“Back home, I can be performing on Buckingham Palace forecourt one day, and playing to 10,000 people in Switzerland the next,” he said. “CLP operations on the other hand last for days at time. While the logistic vehicles travel cross country, negotiating the harsh desert terrain, the top cover gunner has to stand for hours on end, remain alert and vigilant, providing protection.

“In an instant I may have to bring my 7.62mm general purpose machine gun (GPMG) to bear – there’s no time for cat napping.”

Having arrived in Afghanistan in late September, it was not long before Liam received his baptism of fire.

Only a day into his first CLP, he had been mortared three times by the insurgents. The following day, his CLP was attacked by a complex ambush in the heart of the badlands near Camp Sangin.

There is a strong musical following in the family. When his father, Clive, is not busy working as a water engineer, he conducts a brass band and plays the drums, his brother is a drum teacher. and his sister plays the euphonium.