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(Image: Wales News Service Ltd)

A burly soldier has been given an award for 12 years military service - 10 years as a woman and two as a man.

Transgender Corporal Christian Mattey, 32, joined up as a woman called Private Claire Mattey.

But after ten years in the Army reserve, the corporal won the backing of army top brass to switch gender.

Christian, from Swansea, is now a burly bloke after undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

He proudly wear his male soldier's uniform as a recruiter for the Royal Engineers.

Christian said he grew up wearing little girls' dresses and skirts - but always identified as a male.

(Image: Wales News Service Ltd)

(Image: Wales News Service Ltd) (Image: Wales News Service Ltd)

He said: “I identified as male from as young as three. All the kids on the street were lads and I would hang around with the boys.

“My mum asked me once, ‘Do you want to be a boy?’ I lied and told her ‘no’.

“I would dress as a Roman soldier at seven and started becoming myself.

“The last time I wore a dress was when I went to a family friend’s wedding - it was horrendous.

(Image: Wales News Service Ltd)

(Image: Wales News Service Ltd)

(Image: Crown Copyright/WALES NEWS SERVICE)

“I had a sit-down chat at either 14 or 15 and my mum was really supportive.

“People say you have been so brave but I am being myself — I have a strong personality.”

Claire signed up for the Army reserve when she was 20.

She said: “I was quite masculine anyway so I flew under the radar. When I was 22 I plucked up the courage to speak to the GP.”

Christian underwent treatment six months ago to make the transition and is on hormones.

He would be eligible to serve on the frontline but a cruciate ligament injury means he cannot be sent to war.