Mark Sutcliffe MBE (born 29 July 1979 in Peterborough, England) joined the British Army in 1997 aged 17, enlisting into the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment The Poachers, initially joining C (Northamptonshire) Company. In 1999 he was selected to join the Close Reconnaissance Platoon (Recce Platoon), over the next 9 years Sgt Sutcliffe served with the Battalion in Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.