Private David Poole, from Woodvale in Belfast, suffered major back and leg wounds when when the vehicle he was driving set off the device.

He was with 150 other former and serving troops who gathered at Hillsborough Castle for a reception to mark the 100th anniversary of the TA.

The 23-year-old revealed: "It was quite nerve-wracking meeing the Queen but it was also a great honour."

Blast

Private Poole was hurt last May while in the middle of the desert in the volatile Helmand Province.

He attended last night's event with his girlfriend Laura McHenry.

"I left my job to got to Aghnaistan with the TA and I was half-way through my tour of duty when I was injured," he added.

"The Queen asked me about what happeneed there and how my rehabilitation is going and how I'm doing now."

Chatty

Among the other troops to meet the Queen was Newtownabbey man John Hunter, who said the Queen was "just very nice to talk to".

"She was asking how things have been and enquiring about what I do in civilian life," he added.

Ulsterman Joe Coulter added: "She asked what I did in the TA and when I told her I worked in recruitment and training she showed an interest in how it was going."

Mr Coulter's partner, Kate McAllister, added that she was very nervous about the meeting.

"I didn't eat or drink anything before hand – I was afraid of having a bit of lettuce stuck in my teeth or something," she said.

Delighted

Colonel Hubert McAllister, formerly a colonel of the TA in Northern Ireland and deputy brigade commander, said he was delighted the Queen was marking the soldiers' dedication.

"It is a great privilege to be recognised in this way and is a measure of the vital role the TA plays within the Army," he said.
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