A FELIXSTOWE company director has been awarded for his exceptional service in Iraq.At the age of 51 David Baker thought his days of being called up to war were over, but it seems his vital engineering skills are few and far between in the army.

A FELIXSTOWE company director has been awarded for his exceptional service in Iraq.

At the age of 51 David Baker thought his days of being called up to war were over, but it seems his vital engineering skills are few and far between in the army.

And six months down the line Mr Baker of Nayland Road, Felixstowe was called into an office and given an award for his good work.

Mr Baker is in the Royal Engineers for the Territorial Army and in the last 15 years has visited places such as Cyprus and the Ascension Islands doing his work, but never for as long as this.

His proud wife Carol said it had been a hard six months with her husband being away.

She said: "It was a worry when he first went out there because things were still quite volatile at the time.

"He is over 50 so we did not expect him to be called up but there is a major shortage of engineers even in the regular army so he had to go."

Mr Baker has been doing electrical and mechanical installations across Iraq.

Some of his work has involved getting the country back up and running and some of it has also been getting living accommodation and health centres up to scratch for the troops.

Mrs Baker said that her husband, a director of Ipswich firm MLM Consultant Structural Engineers, has been travelling around Iraq with his work.

She said: "I think he has been surprised by how poor they actually are and the conditions that people are living in - you just don't realise it in this country."

But she added that Mr Baker had also been in Saddam Hussein's palaces in Basra and also into Chemical Ali's house.

She said: "He said he could not believe how Saddam lived compared to the other people in the country."

It has been hard for the couple to be apart for so long, but they get to talk for 20 minutes each week and also text one another every night.

Like many army wives she has a stack of 'blueys' and he has even managed to make videos to send back to her, his two children and grandchildren.

Mrs Baker said: "My grandson is five and thinks its quite exciting and loves the pictures that my husband sends back of the tanks and aeroplanes."

Mr Baker is due home next weekend.