THE last six months have been gruelling for the men and women of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, with seemingly endless, grafting days, protecting the backs of the Royal Engineers as they build new trade routes across war-torn Afghanistan.

But now, the regiment, which has a deeply-embedded West Country heritage, has returned home, and to celebrate, this week they will march through the streets of Bristol – the home city for many of the soldiers, known affectionately in military circles as "Tankies".

Bristolians are expected to line the streets of the city centre to welcome the regiment home.

For men like Sgt Matthew Baldwin, from Shirehampton, it's a day he could never have imagined while he was battling the Taliban insurgency.

As I meet him, after the regiment's medal parade at their Tidworth barracks, the flush of pride is still in his cheeks after being presented with his Afghanistan service medal from the Duke of Gloucester moments before.

But he proudly leads the way to one of the imposing Warthog infantry carrier vehicles, which he commands in the field.

"They are amazing vehicles," he says. "Even in the midst of a major firefight, you feel relatively safe sitting up there. They're big beasts."

The 35-year-old also has experience on his side – having served through two tours of Iraq, two of Kosovo, and two tours of Northern Ireland, before heading out to Afghanistan in the autumn.

"I've served with the army for 15 years," he says. "But you're always experiencing new situations, and Afghanistan is quite different from anything I've experienced before.

"The insurgency fight hard and strong, but for Tankies, the main concern is always IEDs – that is, improvised explosive devices, which can incapacitate a vehicle, even one the size of the Warthog.

"I've been hit a number of times in one of these things, but you're very well protected in these vehicles. But still, for me, to come home in one piece, and have the experience of marching through my home city to look forward to, really will be quite something."

Lieutenant Jonny Emery, a Mastiff troop leader with the regiment, also knows what it is like to feel the force of an IED explosion in these mighty vehicles.

The 25-year-old, from Clapton-in-Gordano, says the driving seat of his Mastiff is the place where he would most want to get this close to such an impact.

The vehicle, like a Formula One car, has a protected inner cell, making it almost entirely impact-proof – though it's probably the only similarity you can make between a single-seater racing car and the gargantuan troop transporter.

"I've hit a few IEDs during my time out there," he says. "It's not good – it blows the wheels off, and sends bits of the vehicle flying in every direction, but the vehicle's V-shaped underside is designed to deflect any blast effectively."

The former QEH boy adds: "To be honest, I was more frightened about coming home, than I was about being out there.

"You hear such stories before you go, but it was actually months before anything seriously untoward happened to me, and even then, we were attacked on our terms – with us taking the offensive against the insurgency at the time. But when you're doing that each day for six months – with a definite job to be done, coming home and readjusting to a normal life for a while, in its own strange way, can be quite intimidating."

It's not a feeling experienced by Corporal Alec Walton, who has also spent the past six months working high up behind the controls of a Warthog vehicle.

The 30-year-old, from Portishead, said he couldn't wait to get back home to see his family.

"I have a two-year-old daughter," he explains. "She's changed a lot in six months. She's gone from being a baby, to being her own little person.

"It's hard being away from your loved ones, but working out there is also rewarding – especially when you're involved with projects as constructive as Route Trident, in which we assisted the Royal Engineers.

"We protected them from insurgents, while they built this major new trade route through the country. Since it opened, the place seems to have come alive once again, which is brilliant for the local people."

Corporal Walton, who will also be marching through Bristol this week, was awarded with the Brick Kite Trophy for outstanding achievement in the field on his return.

"Each year the regiment chooses one individual to receive the trophy, and its a great honour to have been given it," he says.

"But the idea of getting back to Bristol, and having the experience of parading through my home city, will also be a great reward in itself for all the hard work we put in out there."

■ The 2nd Royal Tank Regiment will march from College Green, following a special thanksgiving service at Bristol Cathedral, today from 12.30pm.