Dovercourt's Pen Farthing on journey from Royal Marine to animal rescuer

The former Royal Marine had reached the critical point in his mission to bring his staff and rescue animals home from Afghanistan, but was now being held at gunpoint by one of the world’s most fearsome militant groups.

It would descend into chaos last Thursday as Mr Farthing was forced to turn his team away from Kabul airport due to issues with paperwork, sending the charity workers into an unfolding warzone.

It left his staff shell-shocked as their dreams fell into tatters facing the terrifying realisation they would be forced to stay in the country which had fallen into Taliban rule.

Mr Farthing, for his part, had been looking forward to standing in a pub with a pint in his hand – after all, one of the many hindrances he has faced in the war-torn country was drinking beer out of a can.

It’s all a far cry from his quiet upbringing in Dovercourt.

“As a young boy I always wanted to be one of the popular kids but I don’t think I ever really reached that,” Mr Farthing, now 52, admitted.

“In all honesty I was a bit of a nerd, a shy lad who wanted to be part of the cool crowd.

“I’d say it was when I watched the Falklands War unfolding on the news when I was 13 was when I found my real inspiration. I watched those Royal Marines fight their way across the islands and knew that’s what I wanted to be.

“I began to research them - what they did, what they were about – and started training when I was 14 so I would be ready when I was eligible to join them aged 18.

“I did the Harwich and Dovercourt half marathon and, my mum will back me up on this one, I literally almost died. I had no idea how tough it would be at that age.

“I picked myself back up and trained again and did more and more half marathons, I was determined to join the Marines. I knew the fitness requirements were testing to say the least and I knew I needed to start young.

“When I got to the selection process years later it meant I flew straight through and had more time to concentrate on the military side of things. I’d go as far as to say I enjoyed the infamous fitness ‘beastings’.

“I’ve always enjoyed doing things the hard way, although mum would say perhaps I’ve pushed it a bit too far now.”

Having served in the winter tour of Afghanistan in the Helmand province between 2006 and 2007, it was here where Mr Farthing stumbled across his future calling as an animal rescue worker.

“I’ve always loved animals, my dad had a dog when I was younger and I’ve always liked being around them,” he said.

“I ended up looking after a former fighting dog while on the tour - I’ve actually got form for rescuing them out of Afghanistan the hard way.

“In 2007, I rescued one and he was the catalyst. I named him Nowzad after the town I found him in and now, of course, the charity has taken his name.

“Once I personally facilitated getting that dog back to the UK I had other soldiers asking me to get theirs out. From here, the charity was founded to get animals home, but quickly expanded to training Afghans to become vets, to administer rabies vaccinations etcetera.

“From 2007 I’ve lived there on and off, but for the past two years I’ve stayed out there. In all honesty I’m a fully-qualified climbing guide – that’s all I ever wanted to do.

“Saying that, right now I’m stuck quarantining in Oslo and all I want is to stand in a real pub with a real pint – not in a can!”

In his temporary camp in the Norwegian capital, the heroic Mr Farthing still has much to do before he feels he can celebrate, with his staff still stranded in Kabul.

Reflecting on the fateful night last Thursday when two suicide bombers killed more than 170 people and injured others, the former Marine said: “When we got turned away from the airport it was just pure numbness.

“We had been inside the airport and had the right paperwork, only to be told it had changed and it was now wrong.

“We were turned away at gunpoint and as we left, two suicide bombs went off. We were suddenly involved in the chaos.

“Everyone was trying to flee as the Taliban were tear gassing us, shooting in the air and hitting people with sticks. I was trying to get everyone together and get them away, it really was desperate scenes.

“We managed to get back to HQ and everybody was bewildered. There were a lot of tears and everyone was hugging, it was just horrible and so uncertain.”

After finally being reunited with his wife, Kaisa, Mr Farthing is now trying to sort his housing arrangements, having purchased a property over Zoom in Exeter while in Afghanistan.

It was supposed to be a carefully considered project done via the internet, however it’s fair to say the couple’s situation has accelerated a little in the past few weeks.

And, as well as trying to facilitate the safe passage of his staff to the UK, Mr Farthing now has 33,000 emails to get through – something he believes will take him “at least a year”.

“The support we’ve had has been absolutely amazing,” he added.

“To those who have supported us, especially back home in Essex, your messages and love has blown me away and kept me going.

“There were some very dark moments but I could feel people back home really cared about our cause and it was just amazing.

“I look back at how my life has been since I joined the Royal Marines, thinking of those runs in Harwich, and I think ‘Wow’.

“I’ve been face-to-face with the Taliban and, dare I say it, some of them were OK and were talkative.

“I got my animals home and I won’t rest until I get all my staff home.

“Once we’ve achieved this I’ll sit down and have a glass of wine - not just to sleep but to toast a victory.

“14-year-old Pen would be really proud of everything I’ve done.”