"I'd lost the use of my eye, but both of my eyes were bandaged and my hands tied to the bed to prevent any rubbing..." Peter is 67 and lives in Knutton, Newcastle with his wife Hazel. The couple have two sons. Peter's working life began with seven years spent in the mines, before joining up for duty with 42 Commando, Royal Marines. After leaving the services Peter spent 30 years as an engineer with "exceedingly good" cake maker Mr Kipling. He retired early. His hobbies are livestock and anything to do with affairs in his local community. Peter's story begins with a life changing incident, but he chose to inject a little wry humour into this tale.
In 1958 I joined the Royal Marines. Following an incident in Kuwait where we landed for a short while, we returned to our base in Singapore. My first duty was to remove any sand from the vehicle wheels. Things were going to plan when I felt a blow to my right eye. It felt as though Frank Bruno had given me his best shot. I couldn't see and it hurt to open my eyes. I knew something serious had happened. A slither of steel had come off with the tyre and gone straight into my eye. I was rushed to the civilian hospital in Changi. They removed the splint and put me into a recovery ward. I'd lost the use of my eye, but both of my eyes were bandaged and my hands tied to the bed to prevent any rubbing. My wife Hazel was the first visitor. Each visit Hazel was upset. I thought this was because she was worried about me losing my sight. But it turned out to be my surroundings that were upsetting her. I had been put in the pauper ward because someone forgot to sign for my treatment. I only stayed on this ward for three days before the mix-up was resolved and I was moved. But during my stay there, I would be regularly awakened by a lot of giggles and the request, in a lovely Asian voice, 'Urine, Mr Cotton!' Both hands tied, it was a self-help situation. Whilst in my bed, I would hear water running and splashing on my face. After I'd been moved to a new ward and I was able to walk about, I took a look into my first ward. I observed that the giggles came from the other patients, who followed the nurses around from bed to bed. My bed had been next to a sink, where the male patients who could not wait for the urine call, relieved themselves. I left that ward with a knowing look from the nurses and the thought of 'splash it all over'. What an aftershave! | 
