Episode 139:Wayne Ingram MBE:The Tankie Who Couldn't Walk Away

What happens when a young soldier discovers that some battles don't end when you leave the battlefield?In this episode of Frankie's Pod, Frankie Dunn sits down with Wayne Ingram MBE MCPara — former soldier, reconnaissance specialist, paramedic, fundraiser and author — for one hell of a journey through military service, war, trauma, friendship and the extraordinary power of simply deciding to help someone.Wayne joined the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment at just 17, beginning a military career that would take him from the Cold War in Germany to Northern Ireland and Bosnia. He later moved into reconnaissance with the 9th/12th Royal Lancers, where soldiering meant far more than driving around in armoured vehicles.But Wayne's life took a completely unexpected turn during a tour of Bosnia in 2003.That's where he met Stefan Savic, a four-year-old Bosnian boy born with a devastating facial cleft. Wayne could have walked away. Instead, he made a promise.What followed was a remarkable 13-year mission to raise the money needed to give Stefan the surgery he desperately needed. Through fundraising events, challenges and sheer bloody-minded determination, Wayne eventually helped raise more than £160,000 and changed a young boy's life forever.And perhaps unexpectedly, Stefan changed Wayne's life too.In this incredibly open conversation, Wayne talks about joining the Army, the reality of being a young Tankie, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, leaving the military and finding himself in a completely different world as a paramedic.We also get into the things that aren't always easy to talk about — trauma, PTSD, identity, the transition from military life to civilian life and the scars that don't necessarily show.Wayne's story doesn't stop there. His post-military career has taken him into emergency medicine, remote and offshore work, Iraq and Africa, as well as some seriously outrageous fundraising challenges.He's now an MBE, a paramedic, an author and a man who has spent much of his life trying to make a difference to other people.But perhaps the biggest lesson from Wayne's story is a simple one:Sometimes changing someone's life starts with refusing to walk away.This is Wayne Ingram's story — from Croydon to the Royal Tank Regiment, from soldier to paramedic, and from one encounter in Bosnia to a lifelong friendship that changed two lives.Pull up a sandbag. This one's a belter.Frankie's Pod — Uncorking the Unforgettable