Royal Marine Reservist to receive the George Cross

[Anth]

A Royal Marine Reservist who risked his life by throwing himself on a live grenade to save his comrades in Afghanistan is to be honoured with the nation's highest gallantry award, it was announced today Wednesday 23 July 2008.


Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, a Royal Marine Reservist, displays the rucksack that absorbed most of the explosion when he dived on a live grenade to save his comrades in Afghanistan
[Picture: PO (Phot) Terry Seward]

Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, aged 24, from Birmingham, is to be awarded the George Cross after showing incredible bravery during an operation against the Taliban earlier this year.

Today he attended a ceremony in London where Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup and First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band confirmed that he will receive the George Cross in recognition of his extraordinary bravery.

The George Cross ranks with the Victoria Cross as the nation's highest award for gallantry. It is awarded "for acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger".

In February 2008 L/Cpl Croucher was at the head of a group of four Marines who encountered a live grenade while moving through a darkened compound in Helmand Province. Once he realised that the tripwire for the device had been pulled, he knew that he had to act quickly to ensure the safety of the other Marines present.

L/Cpl Croucher acted on his instincts and threw himself beside the grenade, pinning it between his day sack and the ground to absorb the explosion. Miraculously the force of the impact was contained, his equipment and protective clothing preventing any lethal shards from hitting his body. He suffered only minor injury and disorientation.

Two hours after the explosion, L/Cpl Croucher was part of a team who went on to engage and neutralise an enemy soldier. Announcing L/Cpl Croucher's George Cross, Chief of the Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, said:

"Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher showed extraordinary bravery, self-sacrifice and devotion to duty. He acted to save his comrades in the almost certain knowledge that he would not himself survive. His exemplary behaviour and supreme heroism are fully deserving of the nation's highest recognition."

L/Cpl Croucher, who is the first reservist to receive either a Victoria Cross or George Cross since current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan began, said:

"I automatically sensed an extreme fear when I looked down at the ground and realised that there was a grenade with the pin pulled at my feet. It was one of those situations where I had a split second to decide what to do. I had a quick look around and realised that there was no real place to take cover.

"There were two guys initially right behind me and a third just a bit further back, so I felt a bit guilty for setting the device off. I thought that the best course of action for everyone including myself was to lie right next to the grenade, point my body armour towards it with my day sack and take the brunt of the explosion and see what happens from there."

From left; First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, Margaret Croucher, Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, and Richard Croucher
[Picture: PO (Phot) Terry Seward]

L/Cpl Croucher served with the regular Royal Marines between November 2000 and September 2005. He has served as a reservist ever since. In addition to his tour in Helmand, he has also completed three operational tours of Iraq. Outside his role as a reservist he is a director of security company Pinnacle Risk Management:

"Every day in Afghanistan you're in gun battles and you finish the day thinking 'lucky it wasn't me who was injured'," he continued. "On numerous occasions guys were injured in combat situations that I was in over there, so it's a relief when it's not you, but then you feel sorry for the guy who's been badly injured, so you have to deal with these things every day really.

"It was quite a shock being told it [The George Cross] is on a par with the Victoria Cross. It is a higher medal than I expected to get really for that situation. It's a great honour to get that medal but at the same time there are a lot of other heroic acts which go on in Afghanistan which go unnoticed."

The George Cross ranks was instituted in 1940 to recognise actions of supreme gallantry in circumstances for which the Victoria Cross was not appropriate.

MOD News Link