MC for soldier who saved child from crossfire

L/Cpl Andrew Wardle is one of 131 service personnel on latest military honours list

(pa)

That he lives to tell the tale is little short of a miracle: in the space of two days Andrew Wardle cheated death twice. Not only did the young British soldier survive the blast of a rocket-propelled grenade – carrying on to fight off a Taliban attack – but he also ran into enemy fire to rescue an injured child. The incredible courage of Wardle, a 22-year-old Lance Corporal of 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, has seen him awarded one of the highest honours for bravery in battle – the Military Cross.

L/Cpl Wardle, from Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland, led an Operational Mentoring Liaison Team in Helmand province during his tour, which began last September and ended in March this year. During an operation north of Musa Qal'eh, he fought off the "heavy and accurate enemy fire" of a Taliban attack after suffering concussion when he was knocked to the ground by a rocket-propelled grenade.

"Although dazed with concussion and other minor injuries, he refused medical treatment, determined to remain in the fight until the attackers were successfully beaten off," stated his medal citation, the details of which are released today. Just two days later he led an assault against the Taliban and risked his life to save a child caught in the crossfire. "Wardle, seeing an injured child lying in open ground in full view of the enemy positions, acted on impulse and, with no thought for his own safety, ran 50 metres across open ground, picked up the child and returned to cover." The young corporal "displayed selfless and repeated acts of exemplary gallantry in the face of the enemy".

L/Cpl Wardle will be presented with his medal later this year. His is just one of a number of the most recent stories of courage under fire in a nine-year war that has already claimed the lives of 337 British military personnel.

Two soldiers who stripped off and dived into a freezing canal – risking drowning in the three-metre-deep, fast flowing waters – to rescue a comrade after he was blown up by an IED in Helmand province last December, will receive the Queen's Commendation for Bravery. Second Lieutenant Connor Maxwell, 22, and Rifleman Daniel Nickson, 23, both of 3rd Battalion the Rifles, pulled the unconscious soldier out and evacuated him so he could receive medical treatment. Their actions were described in their citations as showing "complete disregard" for their own safety, and displaying "courage and selflessness".

And 34-year-old Patrick Hyde, a Warrant Officer Class 2 of 4th Battalion the Rifles, is awarded a Mention in Dispatches for "exemplary gallantry". During his six months in Afghanistan, IEDs blew up the vehicle he was in six times, there were three near misses, and four bombs hit other vehicles in the convoy he was commanding. WO2 Hyde, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, also oversaw the medical evacuation of 10 members of his company and four Afghan children with mortal wounds. The soldier's citation said his "selfless commitment and bravery" in the face of continued attack were an "inspiration".

In all, 131 servicemen and women have been included in the latest military honours list, nine posthumously, most of whom served in 11 Light Brigade's bloody tour of Afghanistan between October 2009 and April this year. The part of the battlegroup hit hardest was 3 Rifles. Its commanding officer, Lt-Col Nick Kitson, is to be awarded a Distinguished Service Order, for "outstanding" leadership during a tour which saw 30 soldiers under his command killed in action and many more injured. This year is already the deadliest of the war, with 531 international forces killed to date.

Fierce fighting continues to take a toll. Three Nato soldiers were killed in two bomb blasts and more than 30 insurgents died in a clash with coalition troops in eastern Afghanistan, Nato said yesterday. In a statement, the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) confirmed two soldiers were killed by a bomb blast in the east on Friday, and another died in a blast in the south yesterday. It added that it had captured a Taliban commander linked to attacks on Afghan officials and violence during last weekend's parliamentary elections, and killed another.

The years of British involvement in Afghanistan post 9/11 have created a whole generation of young veterans whose experiences are explored in a one-hour documentary on BBC Radio 1 tomorrow. One of them, Terry Byrne, a 26-year-old corporal in 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, describes life after losing his leg when he stepped on an IED in Helmand province in 2008. Still serving, he stressed the daily heroism of all his colleagues: "People call you a hero but, at the end of the day, I was just an unlucky hero. There's thousands of men who have been out there and not been blown up and we all do the same job; some get injured and some make the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. And, hopefully, it will get fewer and fewer and stop."

Veterans, BBC Radio 1, tomorrow, 9pm