January marks 25 years since the start of the first Gulf War in the Middle East.

At the beginning of 1991, almost 54,000 members of the British armed forces were deployed in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to join the coalition of nations opposing Iraq's invasion of that country in August 1990.

The Americans named the campaign Desert Storm, but for British Forces it was Operation Granby.

The war lasted seven weeks and cost the lives of 47 British servicemen. Tens of thousands of Iraqi fighters died in the conflict, along with almost 5000 Iraqi and Kuwaiti civilians.

STV's Sharon Frew heard the recollections of those involved. For some, it was their very first experience of conflict.

Captain Andy Scott, from Cambuslang, was deployed with wife Theresa as part of the 205 Field Hospital, a unit of TA reservists.

The veteran said he received news of the deployment with "a mixture of excitement, trepidation and fear".

Soon after arriving in Riyadh, the unit came under fire.

Captain Scott said: "It was either the first or the second night we were attacked. When the Scud missiles are coming over and you're lying under cover, you're thinking to yourself - my god, this is it."

Major Allan Ross, from Glasgow, was also sent to Riyadh with the 205.

He said: "We had air raid warnings and Scud attacks most nights right through into middle of February. We were a burns specialist type of hospital and we had a lot of burns casualties coming through, we had a lot of people coming in with fingers being amputated through detonators going off."

'I found it so humbling'

The 205 was the first reserve unit to be called up to staff the first general hospital to be mobilised on that scale since the Second World War. Most training had been geared up for the cold war effort so the deployment came as a surprise.

Major Margaret Cefferty, from Harthill, said: "We were actually a general hospital so we had a massive amount of equipment that we had to set up and prepare."

Major Cefferty said treating wounded soldiers made a deep impression on her.

"Just looking after them, I found it so humbling. Just their attitudes, these guys... they were badly injured but they still wanted to be with their friends," she said.

At one point in the conflict, the unit came under fire from a US warplane.

Captain Scott said: "I think the most casualties we had at one point in time was from a friendly fire incident with an American A10 Thunderbolt aircraft.

"There was a lot of anger in the hospital at that time. It's hard to explain but you know, it happens, it happens in all wars and you just get on with it."

"There is a lot more to war than just war," he added.

"There's the bonding between soldiers, there are the things you go through. Those are things that you will live with all your life."

A quarter of a century on, the Royal British Legion estimates that half of those deployed have suffered from physical or mental stress since the conflict ended.

Lance corporal Joe Sangster was stationed in Kuwait in 1991 as part of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards.

Mr Sangster's experiences left him with post-traumatic stress disorder and Gulf War Syndrome. The conditions initially went undiagnosed, and after he left the forces and returned to Scotland he ended up sleeping rough in Edinburgh.

He told STV: "The things I saw, the noise of going into combat – it stays with you.

"I used to wake up at any sound of a noise. I've had a lot of emotional problems, I still have problems sleeping. I'm lucky if I get a couple of hours a night."

Mr Sangster said he still suffers from agoraphobia and panic attacks.

"Before the war, I was quite a party guy," he said. "After then, I became quieter. I didn't mix. My marriage broke up, that sort of thing."

Mr Sangster now credits veterans' charities with helping him get back on his feet. Scottish Veterans Residences found him a place to live and helped him organise his war pension, while Walking With The Wounded gave him practical help to train for a new occupation.

The 47-year-old is now a jewellery designer with plans to start his own business and help other veterans, who, he says, are being let down by the UK Government.

"There's a lot of guys out there like me, still needing help," he said.

""Luckily enough, I've learnt to control my anger. But a lot of guys haven't. There's a lot of guys in prison now who are veterans, the same as me.

"There's not enough help out there."