Officer saves children and receives MBE

A soldier who prevented tragedy by ordering a ceasefire when he spotted Afghan insurgents using children as human shields has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire.

Major Martin Hedley MBE, of The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, felt a bullet strike his ruck sack during the fire fight, but ordered his men to stop shooting so as to protect the lives of children who were in the firing line.

Martin, 32, and originally from Gateshead, has been in the Army for ten years, and volunteered to serve in Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion The Rifles last year on what was his second tour there.

Behind children
He had been commanding an eight-man team three kilometres away from the nearest British support, when he found himself leading an Afghan Company of more than 100 men which had just seen its commander killed in battle.

Just a day after the tragedy he led some of the Afghan soldiers into enemy territory where they came across insurgents firing from behind children. Martin said: “We were patrolling across a compound when we came under fire and I felt a tug at my day sack. It wasn’t until after the incident quietened down that I realised my radio wasn’t working – a bullet round had gone into the side of it.”

He explained that despite the personal danger he and his men were in, it was a straightforward decision to cease firing back: “We are well trained to fire with the protection of the civilian population in mind, this is key to achieving success in Afghanistan. The benefits of targeting an insurgent are outweighed by the risk of wounding or killing a civilian.”

'Courage and leadership'
On six other occasions Martin and his men were caught in ambushes, and they found themselves under fire on almost every patrol they made.

However Martin was relentless in leading his Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers back to the fight often sprinting across open ground alone and under fire to inspire them into action.

His citation reads: “Hedley kept the Afghans going in the dark days after their charismatic leader was killed in action; an impressive feat for a non-Afghan officer and a real testament to his sustained courage and leadership.”

It added: “He alone made the pivotal difference in persuading the ANA to continue fighting during that crucial period.”

The MBE is awarded for a significant achievement or outstanding service. Martin heard about his honour while training with US Armed Forces in Kansas, he said: “It was the end of our course and so hundreds of us were gathered in a hall waiting to hear the results. Then they announced that I had been awarded the MBE; I was gobsmacked. You don’t get too many of these at my rank and experience.”

Martin said his family, and in particular his wife Laura, are proud: “I told her of the shooting incident at the time, so she was just glad to get me home. But she chided me that I had volunteered for this!”

The announcement was made today with the release of the latest operational honours and awards list which includes 120 personnel. The awards are for actions roughly during the period April to September 2012 during Operation HERRICK 16.

Martin, who is now based at Joint services Command and Staff College, Shrivenham, Oxfordshire, is one of 13 of MBE recipients on the list.