A Broken Soldier

In July 2009, British forces were engaged in fierce battle with the Taliban in Helmand Province, the epicentre of the ‘War in Afghanistan’. Over ten days, fifteen soldiers lost their lives, the highest concentration of British deaths in the twenty-year long war. Six of the fallen soldiers were just teenagers, including the youngest soldier to die in the entire conflict.

A major thread of ‘A Broken Soldier’ is the unfolding news of each of the fifteen soldier’s deaths, told in the exact order and timeline that they tragically occurred.

At first, it was a mystery to me why I was so drawn to subject of PTSD in young rookie soldiers.
It began while watching news coverage of the war in Afghanistan. What struck me most were how young the faces of the dead and injured soldiers were. Indeed, of the first 200 British Soldiers that died, 31 were teenagers. But why did it haunt me so much?
Then memories of my own teenager years came flooding back, of growing up in Ireland when I joined the FCA (Ireland’s Army Reservists). For me, this experience was full of adolescent joy – marching with my mates, firing machine guns and throwing grenades.
But in writing this script, I now realise that I was looking back and questioning my own mental fortitude. What would have happened to me, especially to my mental health had I experienced the death and brutality of war as a teenager?
Would PTSD have plagued my mind, even to this day?

Jerome hides away in a flat that was once the home of his grandmother, who recently died. His mind is plagued by horrific memories of an IED bomb attack when he recently served in Afghanistan, in which two of his army buddies were killed and he was severely injured.

In the next-door flat lives Esther, a frail old woman who suffers from agoraphobia but she refuses all assistance from Social Services. To distract from her loneliness, she watches hours of TV news coverage of the onging war in Afghanistan.

Jerome spends his days sitting outside in the grounds of the estate. Darryl, a lonely youngster, approaches and is startled by Jerome’s aggressive mood.

Jerome has now taken to repeated bouts of self-harm, by near drowning himself in the bath, a technique he uses to remember details of the deadly IED attack.

To distract his mind, Jerome riffles through his grandmother’s things and finds an old photo of himself with Esther and her late husband Jim, who was a soldier in his younger days.

Jerome knocks on Esther’s door and leaves a bag of groceries outside. Eventually, Esther retrieves the bag and searches inside and finds the old photo of Jerome.

The following day, Esther gingerly opens her door and invites Jerome inside. Over the next few days, a cautious friendship between them slowly blossoms.

Although Darryl is wary of Jerome, a friendship develops and the boy opens up about his neglectful mother Tanya and her violent boyfriend Wayne.

One day, Esther suffers a major angina attack. Jerome wants to call a doctor but instead she asks him go to the chemist to get a repeat prescription. On the prescription form, Jerome notices her doctor’s number and phones it.

By now a close bond of friendship and trust has developed between Jerome and Esther. His mental anguish begins to find some respite and she relies on him for companionship and practical help.

One day, a Social Worker unexpectedly arrives, saying that someone had phoned Esther’s doctor after she had an angina attack. Esther feels totally betrayed and furiously orders Jerome to leave.

Jerome feels completely dejected and his aggressive temper returns. He assaults Darryl who runs away upset.

Jerome repeatedly asks Esther’s forgiveness but she remains too hurt and angry.

As a troubled Jerome sits outside, Tanya, who has just split up from Wayne, makes a sexual move on him that is scornfully rejected. She vows revenge.

Over the following days and nights, Jerome remains outside. On not hearing any sound from next-door and on seeing TV news coverage of the horrific deaths and injuries of young soldiers in Afghanistan, Esther’s angry mood slowly changes to one of concern.

Without warning, Jerome is attacked by Wayne, who warns him to stay away from Tanya. But Wayne has misjudged the strength of a fit young soldier. Jerome brutally smashes Wayne’s head in until he lies dead-like on the floor. Upon realizing what he has done, Jerome flees back to the flat.

On hearing panic-stricken noises coming from next-door, Esther calls out to Jerome but he doesn’t respond. Now Esther realizes the unthinkable, that to help Jerome, she must conquer her worst fear and leave her flat to go next-door.

With his head under the bath water, Jerome is determined to relive the IED attack in full. As more detail is relieved, he recalls the horrifying fact that it was his own naive actions that lured his two mates into the IED trap, to their deaths!

Esther finds Jerome in the bath but his body has turned blue. She screams out as she shakes and slaps him back to life.

Later, Esther confides that her beloved Jim, the former soldier, had suffered for years with PTSD. This revelation seems to lance a terrible pain in Jerome’s brain. Now Esther pleads with Jerome to contact the army to get expert help. He agrees but only on condition that she contact Social Services.

Before contacting the army, Jerome goes outside to find Darryl who tells him that Wayne will be ok. Jerome apologises to Darryl who is glad to have his friend back.

Jerome, dressed in his army uniform, goes to Esther to tell her that he is returning to the army for treatment. Esther is so proud of him and they embrace fondly before he leaves.

Later, as Esther sits alone, there is a knock on her door. Outside stands Darryl holding a bag of groceries.