Express & Star

Military Cross for bayonet charge soldier

A soldier who led a bayonet charge through Afghan insurgent enemy fire and another who fought on despite being shot in the head have been awarded the Military Cross in the latest round of military honours.

Published

The men were among seven service personnel, including two from the Midlands, given the awards for gallantry during active operations in Afghanistan.

Scores of other personnel were also recognised in the honours for their incredible bravery and contributions.

Rifleman Matthew Wilson, aged 21, of 2 Rifles, received the Military Cross for running to protect a wounded comrade in a deadly game of cat and mouse in which he was shot in the head.

Corporal Sean Jones, 25, of 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Regiment, was honoured for leading a bayonet charge over 80 metres through enemy fire.

Rifleman Wilson, of Aberystwyth, ran forward into open ground in Nahr-e Saraj to help his colleague, who was shot in the leg.

Bullets continued to pepper the soldiers' location from a hidden sniper.

"I just remember waking up with a massive headache but I didn't realise what had happened right away," the rifleman said. Cpl Jones, of Tern Hill near Market Drayton, Shropshire, was second in command of a patrol trying to draw out insurgents who were planting homemade bombs in the village of Kakaran, Helmand Province.

The soldier and his men were ambushed and overwhelmed by insurgents who trapped them, so the father of two ordered three of his men to fix bayonets before breaking cover and leading them across 80 metres of open ground raked by enemy fire.

Cpl Jones's assault made the insurgents retreat in disarray.

Tamworth Sapper Matthew Garey, from the Corps of Royal Engineers, spent five hours clearing a safe passage for his fellow comrades in one daring operation.

The 24-year-old, who was the lead searcher of a team tasked with clearing a vital supply route to a patrol base in the Gereshk area of Helmand, has been awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.