MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (105/2007) issued by The Government News Network on 23
May 2007
A number of
personnel from all three Services have been invested with their
medals for gallantry in Afghanistan in 2006.
Over 70 UK Servicemen and women were honoured in the Honours and
Awards list made public in December 2006 for their role in
operations in Afghanistan and today five were presented with their
medals at Buckingham Palace by HM The Queen.
Lieutenant (now Captain) Tim Illingworth of the RIFLES receives
the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for 'inspiring and raw
courage from a relatively young and inexperienced officer'
while operating in the Garmsir area of Helmand Province in
Afghanistan in September 2006.
On 10 September 2006 Captain Illingworth, while operating with
the Afghan National Army, was involved in two days of heavy
fighting whereby he was called upon to personally lead an attack
when the Afghan Army Commander had been killed. His inspirational
leadership in trying to recover the body of his fallen comrade, an
act of high cultural significance, and his bravery over a period
of several days was deemed to be well beyond the call of duty.
Major Mark Hammond, a Royal Marine Chinook pilot serving with the
RAF receives the Distinguished Flying Cross for
'inspirational command of his crew and his superior flying
skills' while operating in Helmand Province in Afghanistan in
September 2006.
On the night of 6 September 2006 he was tasked to effect a
casualty rescue from Sangin. While carrying out the evacuation his
aircraft was engaged by rifles and machine gun fire which he
managed to avoid by skilful flying. On completion of that task he
was then sent to Musa Qala for another casualty evacuation but on
this occasion his aircraft sustained a number of hits and he had
to abort the mission. On return to Campo Bastion, without
hesitation he climbed into a spare aircraft and returned to Musa
Qala successfully landing and extracting the casualty despite
further machine gun and RPG attacks directed towards him and his
crew. Major Hammond remained calm and dedicated throughout all
three incidents which would have been sufficient to shake most men.
Flight Lieutenant Craig Wilson, a Royal Air Force Chinook pilot
receives the Distinguished Flying Cross for 'exceptional
courage and outstanding airmanship' while operating in
Helmand Province in Afghanistan in May 2006.
On the night of 11 June 2006 he was tasked to recover a casualty
from a Landing Site. In difficult and dangerous conditions despite
having done little night flying in Afghanistan he made a precision
approach and landing to extract the casualty. A few hours later on
another mission in the same area he was tasked to another high
risk area. Despite being low on fuel he made another difficult
landing before returning to base with just enough fuel to remain
airborne. Then despite having been on duty for over 20 hours he
volunteered to deliver reinforcements to help a threatening ground
situation. His gallantry and extreme and persistent courage
ensured the recovery of two badly wounded soldiers and played a
vital role in saving their lives.
Flight Lieutenant Christopher Hasler, a Royal Air Force Chinook
pilot receives the Distinguished Flying Cross for 'displaying
great courage and composure in a most demanding and high risk
environment' while operating in Helmand Province in
Afghanistan in July 2006.
On 7 July 2006 Flt Lt Hasler while operating in the Sangin area
elected to land in an 'unlikely site' to achieve
surprise in an area where the enemy were operating. Delivering
stores and troops he landed in a site surrounded on three sides by
buildings and to allow another aircraft into the site was required
to position the spinning rotor blades just above a single story
rooftop - any error would have almost certainly resulted in
catastrophic damage to the aircraft. On 14 July on another sortie
Flt Lt Hasler demonstrated tremendous bravery and commitment when
skilfully landing his aircraft while under small arms and rocket
propelled grenade attack thus allowing troops to disembark and
reinforce other ground troops already under significant threat
from Taleban forces
Captain Catherine McWilliam, a Nursing Officer with the UK Field
Hospital at Camp Bastion receives the Associate Royal Red Cross
Medal for her professionalism, compassion and care for the sick
and wounded under her charge. Leading a young team on their first
operational deployment in austere conditions and an extreme
climate she led, taught and supervised her staff in caring for a
wide spectrum of patients including Afghan civilians with varying
injuries. Complex social and cultural challenges made her job
even more difficult but over a 5 month period she demonstrated
inspirational leadership and nursing skills of the highest order
resulting in the recognition of her meritorious service
Notes to Editors
1. The original list of honours was made public in December 2006
and the ceremony at Buckingham Palace today is the actual medal investiture.
2. Pictures of the recipients will be available on the Defence
News Database.
3. A full list of awards will be found at http://www.mod.uk