Lance Corporal James Ashworth To Receive A Posthumous Victoria Cross For Actions In Afghanistan

Photo: L/Cpl James Ashworth died while on a patrol in June last year

Extraordinary Courage: Victoria Cross For The Guardsman Who Gave His Life To Protect His Comrades -- Daily Mail

* Lance Corporal James Ashworth given nation's highest honour for bravery
* Soldier, 23, showed incredible heroism during firefight in Afghanistan
* Deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire to shield colleagues
* Only tenth member of British Army to receive VC since Second World War

Lance Corporal James Ashworth given nation's highest honour for bravery
Soldier, 23, showed incredible heroism during firefight in Afghanistan
Deliberately exposed himself to enemy fire to shield colleagues
Only tenth member of British Army to receive VC since Second World War

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More News On Lance Corporal James Ashworth To Receive A Posthumous Victoria Cross For Actions In Afghanistan

Victoria Cross For Afghan Hero L/Cpl James Ashworth -- BBC
'Extraordinary courage' of soldier killed in Afghanistan earns Victoria Cross -- The Guardian
Lance Corporal James Ashworth to receive posthumous Victoria Cross for protecting comrades in Afghanistan -- The Independent
British soldier to receive posthumous VC for bravery in Afghanistan -- The Telegraph
Corby Soldier to be awarded Victoria Cross -- ITV
Soldier to get highest bravery award for saving others -- CBBC
Soldier Who Died Shielding Comrades in Afghanistan Awarded Victoria Cross -- International Business Times
British soldier killed in Afghanistan to receive highest honour -- Global Post/AFP

Britain's Bravest Soldier?

Photo: Lieutenant Colonel Martin-Leake

Is This Our Bravest Soldier? Extraordinary Story Of Medic Who Won TWO Victoria Crosses In Boer War And World War One -- Daily Mail

* Lieutenant Colonel Martin-Leake one of just three soldiers to win two VCs
* Surgeon saved the lives of wounded comrades in Boer War with enemy riflemen just 100 yards away
* Aged 40, he feared he was too old to volunteer for the Western Front and travelled to Paris to enlist

He was a medical man who tended to the sick and injured at a local hospital in the shires.

But Arthur Martin-Leake became one of Britain's greatest war heroes — earning the Victoria Cross for extreme bravery not once, but twice.

On the battlefields of the Second Boer War in South Africa he ignored the risk of death from heavy rifle fire to save the lives of wounded comrades.

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My Comment: An extraordinary story of bravery.

A Victoria Cross Is Expected To Fetch £130,000 At Auction

Photo: Corporal Arthur Cross produly displays his Victoria Cross medal awarded to him for gallantry in the First World War

Victoria Cross Medal Given To WWI Corporal And Worn By Actor David Niven Expected To Fetch £130,000 -- Daily Mail

A Victoria Cross medal awarded to a hero soldier and later worn by the actor David Niven is expected to fetch up to £130,000 when it is sold at auction.

The VC medal, the highest award for gallantry, was given to Arthur Cross after a courageous assault on enemy forces in the First World War.

Incredibly, the same medal was then used by David Niven who needed a real one when starring in the film Carrington, VC.

Now the VC, together with his Military Medal and a welter of memorabilia, is to surface at auction for the first time. It is to be offered at Spink’s in London by his family on April 19, when it is expected to fetch £110,000 - £130,000.

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My Comment: I guess the family needs the money .... but I suspect that the new owner will appreciate and respect it's incredible history.

A Victoria Cross Is Awarded To An Australian SAS Soldier

Lance Corporal Ben received his Medal for Gallantry from governor-general Mike Jeffery in 2006. Picture: Defence Source: The Australian

Second SAS Afghan Victoria Cross For Heroic Charge -- The Australian

THE act of extreme courage that earned Australia's latest SAS hero the Victoria Cross was similar to the storming of a Japanese machinegun post by previous VC winner Edward Kenna in the jungles of Papua New Guinea during World War II.

The Special Air Service Regiment soldier, identified so far as "Lance Corporal Ben", will receive his Victoria Cross from Governor-General Quentin Bryce at a ceremony in Perth on Sunday.

It is understood the soldier has already won the Medal for Gallantry in 2006.

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More News On An Australian SAS Soldier Being Awarded The Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross awarded to soldier who 'tore a Taliban fighter off his back like an insect' -- News.com.au
SAS soldier earns VC for fearless charge -- ABC News (Australia)
Ultimate warrior tackles Taliban -- Herald Sun
Corporal to be second SAS soldier in two years to receive VC in Afghanistan conflict -- The Australian
SAS soldier awarded the Victoria Cross -- Herald Sun

My Comment: Being brave does not come close to describing what this SAS soldier did to earn the Victoria Cross.

50 British Military Heroes Awarded The Victoria Cross

Photo from The Daily Mail

Fifty Great Heroes: 1-25 -- The Telegraph

Lord Ashcroft tells the stories of 50 military heroes who were awarded the Victoria Cross, the ultimate decoration in Britain and the Commonwealth for bravery in the face of the enemy.

1) Howard Elphinstone, Victoria Cross

Lieutenant Howard Elphinstone, whose courage on the battlefield was matched by his charm as a courtier, was awarded the VC for bravery in the Crimean War. Even en route to the war zone, he was involved in the courageous rescue of four drunken sailors from the sea.

Elphinstone had landed at Balaclava, aged 24, in September 1854 and was twice mentioned in dispatches for his courage later that year. It was, however, for gallantry during the assault on Sebastopol that Elphinstone received his VC.

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Victoria Cross Hero Johnson Beharry Condemns Failure To Care For Veterans

L/Cpl Beharry described the nightmares, mood swings and
irrational rages that plagued many soldiers Photo: PA

From The Telegraph:

The British Army's most decorated serving soldier has accused the Government of failing troops suffering from mental trauma as a result of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross for twice saving the lives of colleagues in Iraq while under heavy rocket fire, said it was "disgraceful" that some veterans struggled to receive treatment that is rightfully theirs.

He said the Government was relying on military charities to cover its own failings and called on ministers to do more to help the growing number of his comrades suffering from severe combat stress, depression and mental breakdowns.

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My Comment: The Ministry for Veterans in the U.K. is years behind the service that countries like Canada and the U.S. give to their injured soldiers (which is not saying much). Kudos to Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry for pointing out this outrage.

Victoria Cross Awarded To Australian Soldier

From Yahoo News/AFP:

SYDNEY (AFP) – A soldier who saved the life of an Afghan translator during battle has been awarded the Victoria Cross -- the first Australian in 40 years to receive the medal.

Trooper Mark Donaldson, 29, received the VC, the highest military honour in the Commonwealth, at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at Government House in Canberra.

Only three other VCs have been awarded worldwide in the past 27 years, and Donaldson was the first person ever to receive the award in its national form, the Victoria Cross for Australia, which was introduced in 1991.

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