Former RAF sergeant named Amplifon’s Overall Champion and Against All Odds winner

Former RAF sergeant Duncan Slater, who lost both legs in a bomb blast in Afghanistan but has gone on to overcome one amazing challenge after another, is the Overall Champion and Against All Odds winner in the Amplifon Awards For Brave Britons 2021.

Duncan, 42, formerly of Muir of Ord near Inverness, and now based in Norfolk, has raised thousands of pounds for charities Help For Heroes, the RAF Benevolent Fund and Walk With The Wounded.

He was said by the judges to have shown the ‘Best of British’ spirit.

The Overall Champion award was presented by Falklands War hero Simon Weston, who, over the years, has been an inspiration to Duncan.

Simon said: “This award goes to a person who exemplifies what the Amplifon awards represent – and that’s the Best of British.

“Duncan has overcome his own adversities, not only to achieve great things in his life but also to make an indelible inspirational stamp on the whole nation.

“He is an individual who doesn’t know when to give up. He bears no malice when he could be filled with anger. He has made it his mission to make a mark on society in a positive and productive manner.”

Sgt Duncan Slater proudly shows off his two Amplifon Awards For Brave Britons

Duncan said: “To win these awards is unbelievable. It’s a huge privilege just to be here amongst all of the other finalists.

“I don’t want to embarrass him but Simon Weston has been a huge inspiration of mine. I have followed a lot of the stuff he has done and I just think he is an amazing human being.

“I can’t believe I have won these awards. It’s just phenomenal. It’s just topped off my year perfectly.”

The virtual awards ceremony was hosted by BBC Breakfast and BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Rachel Burden, and Falklands War hero Simon Weston CBE was the guest of honour.

Duncan joined the RAF Regiment when he was 19, following in the footsteps of his dad and grandad who both served in the RAF.

In 2009 he broke almost every bone in his body and lost both legs when the armoured vehicle he was travelling in was struck by a roadside bomb in Helmand Province.

After spending five months in hospital and then recovery time at home, his friend Christopher Moore suggested they do a bike ride together. Not any bike ride, but from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

Since then, he has completed the London Marathon, become the first double amputee to reach the South Pole and finished the gruelling Marathon de Sables in the Sahara Desert.

.@DuncanSlater3 is a huge inspiration- completing the @marathonDsables is an amazing achievement!

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) April 14, 2017

For his incredible efforts Duncan was made an Honorary Freeman of Diss at the town’s annual meeting in front of his wife Kim and daughter Lilly.

As an ambassador for Walking With The Wounded, Duncan visits schools and businesses giving inspirational talks.