THEY are the forgotten victims of the Iraq conflict — the hundreds of soldiers maimed or wounded in the invasion and its 20-month aftermath.

The number of British troops flown home with serious injuries is now nearly 800, The Times can reveal. The Ministry of Defence has previously disclosed only the death toll and the Government has done nothing to draw attention to the wounded, many of whom were hurt during acts of exceptional courage. The Freedom of Information Act is now obliging it to be more open.

Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, has made one visit, 21 months ago, to the Birmingham hospital where they are treated. Neither Tony Blair nor any other senior minister has visited the wounded in the British hospital, although they have seen injured soldiers at a military hospital in Basra.

Most of the wounded and their relatives contacted by The Times were unwilling to talk, because they had been instructed to remain silent by the MoD, because they were awaiting compensation or because they had rejoined the Forces.

But Gordon Stacey, whose son Kevin required emergency brain surgery after his tank was hit by a bomb in Basra last August, said that he felt disgusted by Mr Blair’s perceived lack of interest in the war wounded.

“After Kevin was injured it was the beginning of the Olympics and I saw Tony Blair walking around in a T-shirt, shaking hands and smiling and I felt disgusted. Here we were with our boy injured and there was Tony Blair swanning around getting as much publicity as possible from just being at the Olympics,” he said.

A Royal Marine said he was disappointed that no government figure had expressed interest in his plight.

Asked whether he had been contacted by any member of the Government, Marine Justin Smith, who was seriously wounded during the invasion of Iraq, said: “I didn't get anything at all, though it would have been nice.”

The MoD’s figures show that 790 personnel have come back from Iraq after being injured in hostile attacks, accidents or other incidents. It could not give any further breakdown.

The British Limbless Ex-Servicemen’s Association said that nine soldiers had had limbs amputated, and two had lost both legs. Two have lost an eye.

The total is more than ten times the number of deaths — 73 — since the military campaign began in February 2003 and would be higher were it not for improved armour and equipment. It reflects the rising number of attacks in the supposedly safer southern sector of Iraq. Most have taken place since combat operations officially ended on May 1, 2003.

The injured are taken to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham. The MoD refused to let The Times visit there, saying that it wanted to protect the injured from the media.

In the US, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, and other senior figures have visited the Walter Reid Army Medical Centre in Washington. Journalists can also visit. The number of US troops wounded in Iraq is 10,372, with 1,375 killed.

Some British regiments, such as the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment and The Black Watch, have suffered particularly high numbers of injuries.

The 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, based at Tidworth, Surrey, suffered fifty casualties in its six-month tour last year, two of them fatal. Many were serious woundings from rocket-propelled grenade attacks by insurgents.

When The Black Watch was deployed 20 miles south of Baghdad for 30 days in November and December last year, five soldiers were killed, four from hostile enemy action. Another 29 soldiers were injured. Two lost both legs.

After treatment at Selly Oak, soldiers who have lost legs and arms receive rehabilitation at an MoD centre at Headley Court, Surrey. Most are expected to remain in the Armed Forces in non-infantry roles.

SERVICE RECORD

73 dead
790 injured
Approximately 55,000 troops have served in Iraq
9,000 troops are there now

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