Former soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan now working as a Wiltshire PCSO
Corie Mapp is sharing his inspirational story to help others
A Police Community Support Officer in Wiltshire who lost both his legs while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan is sharing his inspirational story.
Corie Mapp suffered devastating injuries in Helmand Province after the vehicle he was in went over an improvised explosive device (IED).
It resulted in him becoming a double amputee below the knee.
Now a Police Community Support Officer with Wiltshire Police, Corie used his free time during lockdown to write about his experiences on how that traumatic day provided the catalyst for him to go onto be a European and World Cup champion in para bobsleigh, as well as his ambitions to become a full time Police Constable.
“I want people to be inspired by it. It's a story about triumph overcoming adversity. It's a story about a person who has had a hand dealt that was a pretty rough one, but that hasn't defined the person that I became. I spent the entire lockdown recording the story over the telephone with my co-author, Christopher Joll. Having gone through all I've gone through, it was a really cathartic experience because I had lost a lot of memories from the explosion."
About Corie
Born in Barbados, Corie left his home country in 2005 to join The Life Guards, the senior regiment of the Household Cavalry, becoming the first Barbadian to ride on Trooping the Colour as well as training in Canada with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
It was while fulfilling that dream that the unthinkable happened, but rather than let the life-changing injury have a negative impact, within two months he was back with his regiment in Windsor on his new prosthetic legs and promoted to Lance Corporal.
“I found it very hard at first because, processing something like that, I don't think you can adequately explain how you do it. I remember some stuff like my first shower. The nurse wheeled me into the bathroom and at that point, you read how I saw all the blood pouring off me as the water ran onto my skin and then my hair fell out. I completely broke at that point because I wondered what was actually left of me.
“Later that day, I saw my kids and they were so positive that I had no choice but to embrace the fact that I was still alive and they still saw me as dad.”
‘Black Ice in bobsleigh’
The book is named Black Ice, a nod to the nickname Corie has been given on the bobsleigh circuit, a sport he picked up after leaving the army with support from the Wiltshire charity Help for Heroes.
To his surprise, he has excelled at it, winning gold in the inaugural Para Bobsleigh World Cup in St Moritz in 2014, before becoming World Cup champion in 2018 and European Champion in 2020.
Corrie added: “Sport gave me something to get up for in the morning, something to live for. I never thought I would be that good at anything, to be completely honest. I don't really think about the success, I just see it as something I love. It’s not necessarily the be all or end all of my life, so to speak, but I just I just really love it. It gives me a freedom, an adrenaline rush that I hadn’t experienced.”
Training to be a Police Officer
In 2020 Corie joined Wilshire Police as a full-time Police Community Support Officer, with ambitions of becoming a Police Constable.
He enjoys serving the community with a selfless attitude and takes great pride from being there as an inspiration to others.
“Joining Wiltshire Police has shown I can function day-to-day and I can achieve things outside of a sporting environment. I wanted to make a difference in the community and I wanted to be part of a team again. It has added challenges but like everything, you meet challenges with solutions. I enjoy meeting the children at school. When you turn up and see them excited to see you and telling you what they have done and the reassurance it gives their parents is a nice feeling.
“We’re all one community and it is nice to be able to go out and represent them.”