Captain Mark Livingstone, a former Holy Cross pupil, receives a prestigious medal for his contribution to peacekeeping efforts in Somalia.

An Army officer from Chorley has received a medal from the Princess Royal after completing a six-month peacekeeping tour in Somalia.

Captain Mark Livingstone was presented with the General Service Medal earned during his deployment last year.

The 32-year-old serves with 13 Air Assault Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps and received the medal during a visit by the Princess Royal to the Colchester-based unit, in her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Logistic Corps.

“It’s always good to get a medal, but I’m even prouder to receive this one from the Princess Royal,” he said. “Her Royal Highness has been to Somalia and was interested in how the country is developing.”

British troops have been deployed to Somalia since 2016 to train the Somali National Army and support African Union efforts to combat al-Shabaab militants.

Captain Livingstone, a former Holy Cross Catholic High School pupil, said: “Somalia faces a lot of challenges and I’m proud that I’ve been out to do my bit to help.

“My job was to teach logistics and there was a real enthusiasm to learn amongst the Somali soldiers, but there were cultural and institutional challenges to overcome.

“I learnt a lot about how to work with people with a totally different background and approach to life to mine.”

He also shared his specialist skills as an ammunition technical officer, responsible for the safe management, maintenance, storage and disposal of munitions.

Captain Livingstone has served in the Army for 10 years and has also deployed on Operation Cabrit in Estonia, where British troops are based to help secure NATO’s eastern flank.

He studied fire and rescue at the University of Wolverhampton.

“I’d always wanted to be a firefighter when I was growing up,” he said. “My brother wanted to join the Army and I went along to the careers office with him.

“I found myself interested and started an application for Sandhurst then and there. I just went for it and have found it to be a very rewarding and interesting career.”