Stuart Tootal

After passing out from Sandhurst, Stuart completed several tours of Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’.  He saw active service in the 1991 Gulf War and during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  He has also served on the Army staff at the MOD, for which he was awarded an OBE in 2005.

In 2006 he commanded the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (3 PARA), which was the first UK Battle Group to be sent to southern Afghanistan, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his ‘outstanding leadership’. The fighting 3 PARA participated in has been described as the most intense level of combat experienced by the British Army since the Korean War.  Although, promoted to full colonel, he subsequently resigned his commission over the poor treatment of his wounded.

Since 2008 Stuart has held senior MD global head operational positions in a major blue chip financial services corporate. He also set up a major industry leading programme for helping veterans transition into civilian employment that has helped over 4,000 ex-military individuals.  Stuart is the founder and chairman of the Parachute Regiment’s Afghanistan Trust charity.  Since its inception in 2009, the charity has raised £3.4M for wounded paratroopers. 

He is author of the Sunday Times best seller Danger Close: Leading 3 PARA in Afghanistan and The Manner of Men: 9 PARA’s Heroic D-Day Mission. Stuart co-wrote Davd Render's military memoir, Tank Action and  it is now a core text on the syllabus of the Royal Armoured Corps' troop leader course. His latest book, co-written with Mark `Splash' Aston is SAS: Sea King Down is a Sunday Times top ten bestseller.

Stuart is a respected media security and defence commentator and regularly lectures on leadership in adversity and the ‘transferables’ from the military to corporate sector.  

Represented by: Philip Patterson

Titles
SAS: Sea King Down (Michael Joseph, 2021) - co-written with Mark 'Splash' Aston
Tank Action (with David Render)  (Orion, 2016)
The Manner of Men (John Murray, 2013)
Danger Close (John Murray, 2009)