The father of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan is sharing his story of grieving in a bid to get men to open up about bereavement. Efrem Brynin lost his son, Lance Corporal James Brynin, in 2013. Since then, he has used the exposure he gained from competing on Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins to help others open up about their mental health .
Now, the chief executive of charity StrongMen will continue to share his story at a hospice event in the hope of getting the message out that “life goes on”. Efrem, from Pulborough, said: “We'd never have chosen to lose James – but look at the good we've been able to do since then. “I'd swap it all in an instant, but I’ve come to the realisation over time that you can't change things.
You've just got to try and make the best out of them.” James Brynin was shot and killed by a colleague by mistake in an incident of friendly fire. Shoreham-born James was shot on an operation in central Helmand Province on October 15, 2013.
Lance Corporal Brynin was part of a troop carrying out intelligence work on the Taliban and after coming under fire from enemy forces, attempted to retreat. Having left a compound, the 22-year-old was accidentally shot by Lance Corporal of Horse Mark Kelly, his inquest at Chichester Coroner's Court heard in 2016 . Efrem competed on the Channel 4 special forces show in 2016, where he opened up about his son’s death to the show's stars Jason Fox and Ant Middleton on screen.
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