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Victoria Cross - posthumous
A hero soldier who died saving seven comrades from Taleban gunfire has been awarded the highest recognition for gallantry, the Victoria Cross. Corporal Bryan Budd, 29, of Ripon, North Yorkshire, was killed when he single-handedly stormed a Taleban position in Afghanistan, in August.It is the first posthumous VC to be awarded since the Falklands war. He had a daughter aged two and his wife gave birth to their second child a month after he was killed in action. A member of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and originally from Scunthorpe, he was the 20th UK serviceman to die in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November, 2001. He had been in the Army for 10 years, serving in Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was about to be promoted to platoon sergeant. His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal, said at the time of his death he was a natural leader. "Bryan died doing the job he loved, leading his men from the front - where he always was," he said. The Victoria Cross was created in 1856 to honour soldiers of the British Empire during the Crimean War who showed gallantry in the face of enemy attack. Cpl Budd's wife Lorena, 23, a clerk with the Royal Artillery, said after the announcement: "Bryan will always be remembered by me as a loving husband and father to our two beautiful daughters, Isabelle and Imogen. "The exceptional act of valour and the subsequent award of the Victoria Cross is representative of the sort of man Bryan was. "He was a proud and passionate Parachute Regiment soldier and he was someone who was prepared to make the very highest sacrifice to save the lives of others." Posted by: Chuck Simmins 2006-12-14 |
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