“I’m absolutely convinced that what Harry was given was right for what he was doing. However, nothing was ever going to stop his leg getting blown off.”  His son, who served with the Rifles 4th Battalion, nearly died after he was caught in the blast from an improvised explosive device, or "IED", in July and ultimately lost both legs.  General Parker and his wife Beccy were on holiday in France when they received the news.  “It was pretty bad at that stage, they didn’t know if Harry would survive or not,” he said.  “We just crossed our fingers and that’s all you can do... just sit and hope you’ll see your son alive again and stay as calm as possible.  “It helped being a soldier because all your training is about remaining as calm and calculating as you can in very difficult circumstances. But it was foul.”  They met Captain Parker at Selly Oak military hospital in Birmingham where he had been transferred after treatment in Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.  “It was just a massive relief to see him alive. He was in bad shape. He’d lost his lower left leg, still had his right leg, lost his little finger, but it was great to see him,” General Parker said.  “Harry had a difficult period in hospital. It was all going very well for the first week and they thought they’d be able to save the right leg. But then he got very sick and they had to remove that too.  “I found it very hard being in the intensive care unit. Our son was in a real state, but he was able to speak to us.  “I can’t imagine how tough it must be for those other poor mums and dads sitting around, hoping against hope while their children lay their unconscious.  “At least we could talk to Harry and he had a sense of humour.”  He said sending troops out into areas where they were at risk from Taliban bombs was dangerous, but necessary.  “I know if a mother whose son has died or been horrifically injured asks ‘Why send them out on patrol?’, that can’t be reconciled on a personal level,” he said.  “But collectively this is what we have to do to get ahead of the enemy and provide for the people that we’re there to do the business for.  “If it’s too dangerous to go on patrol because IEDs are there, then what will happen next?  “The enemy has the initiative, they stick you in your FOB [Forward Operating Base], the get to the local population and intimidate them.  “We’ve now got to find methods and tactics that render IEDs useless.  “But you can’t do it just like that and you absolutely can’t do it by not getting out and not interacting with people.  “We have got to get ourselves so integrated into the local population so that they are telling us what’s going on.  “The safest place is among them because they know what’s going on and they don’t want to get themselves blown up.”  He said his son was recovering well.  “Remarkably Harry’s walking without sticks. He needs them but is able to get by without them,” General Parker said.  “He’s had a very unwanted change to his life, [but] it won’t stop him realising his full potential.”
The deputy commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has told of his soldier   son&rsquo;s fight for life after being caught in a Taliban bomb blast.