Theatre of war: How amputees are helping soldiers prepare for the horrors of battlefield first aid

Albert Thomson lost his leg in 2003. He was working in Iraq in the armed forces when he was shot several times by a Warrior-mounted machine gun. The injuries were so extensive that his left leg had to be amputated above the knee. While he was recovering in hospital, he had a lot of time to think. "I wanted to change a huge negative into a positive," he explains.

No mean feat, yet he managed it.

"It struck me that without the quick thinking and level-headedness of the army medics and doctors who were first on the scene following the horrific injuries, I wouldn't be here today. It occurred to me that I could set up a business using other amputees in training to make sure soliders were less likely to lose their lives."

The idea was simple but effective: he'd recreate scenarios of devastation, using amputees and special effects like make-up for bruises and fake blood. Even the cause of the injury would be simulated – a loud bang for a car bomb, land mine or suicide bomber. He had research on his side – with studies showing that casualty simulation training providing a more realistic incident, putting trainees in the real setting, can help to prepare medical and rescue personnel for the unexpected.

It's not as if military personnel didn't get first aid training relating to severe injuries already. "But what you'd get is normal able-bodied soldiers recreating scenes with tags saying 'leg now missing' or they'd dig a hole in the ground and put the limb in there. I wanted the amputees and the special effects to provide the 'shock' factor to make the training really effective. I wanted to heighten the senses for those in training so that they'd be able to apply first aid instantly and accurately if ever someone around them was catastrophically injured."

In 2005, Thomson's business, Action Amps, was born and has gone from strength to strength. "I actually started the company before leaving the military – where I was then working behind a desk – by introducing it into a couple of medical units. I'd explained that I wanted to use myself and other amputees to show how to face the moment and they agreed." Today, Action Amps is not only a quality provider of specialist training packages for the armed forces, but also for rescue services such as fire stations and paramedics, and for London Underground.

In addition, Thomson provides amputees and special effects for film and TV. "I recently starred in a film myself as an ex-soldier in the First World War," he says. "The director thought, why not use a real amputee?"

Thomson, who is married with a five-year-old son, attributes the success of the business to the fact that he's "been there and got the T-shirt" and because he's so motivated about preventing people losing their lives.

"It's also thanks to the 100 amputees I've got on my database. They range in age from 16 to 66 and are male and female. Some were born with missing limbs, while others, like me, had them catastrophically removed. Sadly, I can't employ them full-time, but if I've got a job in, say, Peterborough, I'll look for the closest person and ask them if they want to do it. Most of them have full-time jobs, but they fit this work in around that."

Thomson manages to find amputees by advertising in disability magazines, and points out that the database also provides an invaluable network whereby amputees can chat about other issues relating to their disability.

When Thomson was lying recovering from his own injury, he was adamant that he could carry on as usual. He'd served in the military for 18 years. "But then I realised I was kidding myself. Nonetheless, I was determined to find something else that I enjoyed, preferably something that kept me in my military uniform."

Thomson gains huge satisfaction from seeing amputees doing what they enjoy. "You see them surrounded by the blood and guts and they love it!"

But the greatest reward of his work comes from the calls and letters he receives afterwards when people say they had to apply the training – for example upon deployment to Iraq or Afganistan – and it led to someone staying alive.

More information: actionamps.com

Albert Thomson is nominated for Radar Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The winners will be announced at a black tie event on 1 December. See radar.org.uk for details