b. 1984 Bolton, Lancashire.
DATE OF CGC ACTION: 2013 Afghanistan.
Anthony J Stazicker CGC
Anthony Stazicker was born in Bolton in 1984. He had no connections with the military in his background, and chose sport as his early obsession. He began playing football at a young age and he saw it as a future career in professional sport. Unfortunately, a serious injury curtailed his chances of a footballing career, and he began working in a local gym as a gym instructor.
His life changed however, with the onset of the Iraq war, and he decided he should do his bit. He began researching about military history and in particular, the Royal Marines, who were heavily involved in Iraq. He then enrolled in the Royal Marines, and undertook the 32 week arduous training course in 2005, at the age of 21.
He spent three years in the Royal Marines, before taking a sniper’s course. It was then that he was deployed to Afghanistan for the first time. When he returned from his first deployment, his interest had been piqued with Special Forces, whom he served with out there. In 2009, he put himself forward for Special Forces, and would spend the next ten years serving with them. During a deployment in Afghanistan in 2013, he would be awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, second only to the Victoria Cross, for gallantry.
He chose to leave the military in 2018, and he then teamed up with a colleague from Special Forces, Louis Tinsley, to set up a business “ThruDark”, which produces higb performance outerwear. Starting with a highly technical “Summit Suit”, the pair helped break mountaineering records including the fastest time to summit all 14 8,000m peaks and the first ever winter ascent of K2. Expanding on their initial range of cold weather expedition gear, the brand has grown to encompass premium apparel, technical activewear, hot weather clothing and more. He has also written a book about his experiences “The Hard Road Will Take You Home”.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: WITH RECIPIENT.
