A British soldier who died in southern Afghanistan last year as he protected his platoon from a grenade blast is to be awarded the Victoria Cross. The UK’s top gallantry medal will go to Lance Corporal James Ashworth, 23, of Corby, Northamptonshire, who was serving with 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.
The Victoria Cross is the most prestigious of all military decorations and only awarded in exceptional circumstances for bravery carried out under direct enemy fire. To date, only 1,360 VCs have been awarded, only 10 times to UK soldiers since World War II, and only once before for bravery in Afghanistan.
The Victoria Cross is awarded for:
“… most conspicuous bravery, or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.”
Lance Corporal Ashworth, only the second to get Britain’s top medal for bravery in Afghanistan, was killed as he stormed an insurgent position in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province in June 2012. It happened when the two aircraft inserting the Reconnaissance Platoon on an operation to neutralise a dangerous insurgent sniper team, were hit by enemy fire as they came into land. Unflustered, Ashworth – a young and inexperienced non-commissioned officer – raced 300 metres with his fire-team into the heart of the insurgent dominated village. Whilst two insurgents were killed and two sniper rifles recovered in the initial assault, an Afghan Local Police follow-up attack stalled when a patrolman was shot and killed by a fleeing enemy. Called forward to press-on with the attack, Ashworth insisted on moving to the front of his fire team to lead the pursuit. Approaching the entrance to a compound from which enemy machine gun fire raged, he stepped over the body of the dead patrolman, threw a grenade and surged forward. Breaking into the compound Ashworth quickly drove the insurgent back and into an out-building from where he now launched his tenacious last stand.
The citation for Lance Corporal Ashworth’s VC underlines the exceptional bravery he showed:
Despite the ferocity of the insurgent’s resistance, Ashworth refused to be beaten. His total disregard for his own safety in ensuring that the last grenade was posted accurately was the gallant last action of a soldier who had willingly placed himself in the line of fire on numerous occasions earlier in the attack. This supremely courageous and inspiring action deserves the highest recognition.