Corporal Bryan Budd
Victoria Cross – posthumous
Cpl Budd, 29, died as a result of injuries sustained during a fire fight with Taliban forces in Sangin, Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. The incident occurred whilst on a routine patrol close to the District Centre. Three other British soldiers were injured in the incident but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
Corporal Bryan James Budd, 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment
Corporal Bryan James Budd was born on 16 July 1977 and lived in Ripon, North Yorks with his wife Lorena and their two year old daughter Isabelle. Cpl Budd had been in the Army for 10 years, since December 1995. He enjoyed a distinguished career, enlisting into the Parachute Regiment then passing the rigorous selection process for 16 Air Assault Brigade’s Pathfinder Platoon, an elite unit specially trained for long range reconnaissance missions.
Whilst part of that platoon he served in many operational theatres including Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Afghanistan and Iraq. In May 2002 he passed his Section Commander’s Battle Course with distinction, and was on the cusp of promotion to Platoon Sergeant. He was a qualified Army Combat Survival Instructor, rock climber and freefall parachutist. In 2004 Cpl Budd was posted to the Army Foundation College in Harrogate where it was his responsibility to help train young future soldiers. He joined A Company, 3 PARA, in early June 2006 serving in Helmand Province.
A talented and hardworking soldier, Cpl Budd was the consummate professional. Universally liked and admired, he was a shining example to those under his command, demonstrating great courage in the face of adversity. He had a keen sense of humour and a natural ability for lightening the mood.
Softly spoken and gracious, he was never hurried or flustered and took everything in his stride. Living in such a beautiful part of the world he loved the outdoors and would spend whatever time he could there. However, his keenest passion was for his family of which he was incredibly proud. He leaves behind his wife Lorena and daughter Isabelle. The couple were looking forward to the birth of their second child in September.
The leader of a paratroop section who took on Taliban fighters single-handedly has become the seventh British soldier to die in Afghanistan this month.
Cpl Bryan Budd, 29, was shot dead during an attempt to lead the storming of a building filled with Taliban fighters after an ambush in the town of Sangin, northern Helmand province. He had led his unit “superbly” from the front for the past three months, his colleagues said yesterday.
All but one member of the eight-man section of paratroopers have now become casualties of the increasingly ferocious clashes with the Taliban.
Cpl Budd, who leaves a young daughter and a pregnant wife, Lorena, was the 13th fatality since the Helmand task force deployed to the province in May.
His section, from A Company, 3 Bn the Parachute Regiment, suffered its casualties during the heavy fighting around Sangin, where five other British troops have been killed.
Comrades of Cpl Budd, who was due to be promoted to sergeant, said he had single-handedly stormed a building using hand-grenades and his rifle to kill the enemy during an operation three weeks ago.
“Bryan was doing really well,” a colleague said. “He had taken out an insurgent building on his own and was truly leading by example.” One of the other soldiers injured in the attack suffered bullet fragments in his back; another survived a bullet travelling up his leg and exiting through the pelvis; and the third had undisclosed wounds.
Three other men in the section have been wounded in the past two months.
A hero soldier who died saving seven comrades from Taleban gunfire has been awarded the highest recognition for gallantry, the Victoria Cross. Corporal Bryan Budd, 29, of Ripon, North Yorkshire, was killed when he single-handedly stormed a Taleban position in Afghanistan, in August.
It is the first posthumous VC to be awarded since the Falklands war.
He had a daughter aged two and his wife gave birth to their second child a month after he was killed in action.
A member of the 3rd Battalion the Parachute Regiment and originally from Scunthorpe, he was the 20th UK serviceman to die in Afghanistan since the start of operations in November, 2001.
He had been in the Army for 10 years, serving in Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was about to be promoted to platoon sergeant.
His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal, said at the time of his death he was a natural leader. “Bryan died doing the job he loved, leading his men from the front – where he always was,” he said.
The Victoria Cross was created in 1856 to honour soldiers of the British Empire during the Crimean War who showed gallantry in the face of enemy attack.
Cpl Budd’s wife Lorena, 23, a clerk with the Royal Artillery, said after the announcement: “Bryan will always be remembered by me as a loving husband and father to our two beautiful daughters, Isabelle and Imogen. “The exceptional act of valour and the subsequent award of the Victoria Cross is representative of the sort of man Bryan was. “He was a proud and passionate Parachute Regiment soldier and he was someone who was prepared to make the very highest sacrifice to save the lives of others.”
“During July and August 2006, A Company, 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment were deployed in the District Centre at Sangin. They were constantly under sustained attack from a combination of Taliban small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar and rocket fire.
“On 27 July, whilst on a routine patrol, Corporal Bryan Budd’s section identified and engaged two enemy gunmen on the roof of a building in the centre of Sangin. During the ensuing fierce fire-fight, two of Corporal Budd’s section were hit. One was seriously injured and collapsed in the open ground, where he remained exposed to enemy fire, with rounds striking the ground around him. Corporal Budd realised that he needed to regain the initiative and that the enemy needed to be driven back so that the casualty could be evacuated.
“Under fire, he personally led the attack on the building where the enemy fire was heaviest, forcing the remaining fighters to flee across an open field where they were successfully engaged. This courageous and prompt action proved decisive in breaking the enemy and was undertaken at great personal risk. Corporal Budd’s decisive leadership and conspicuous gallantry allowed his wounded colleague to be evacuated to safety where he subsequently received life-saving treatment.
“A month later, on 20th August, Corporal Budd was leading his section on the right forward flank of a platoon clearance patrol near Sangin District Centre. Another section was advancing with a Land Rover fitted with a .50 calibre heavy machine gun on the patrol’s left flank. Pushing through thick vegetation, Corporal Budd identified a number of enemy fighters 30 metres ahead. Undetected, and in an attempt to surprise and destroy the enemy, Corporal Budd, initiated a flanking manoeuvre. However, the enemy spotted the Land Rover on the left flank and the element of surprise was lost for the whole platoon.
“In order to regain the initiative, Corporal Budd decided to assault the enemy and ordered his men to follow him. As they moved forward the section came under a withering fire that incapacitated three of his men. The continued enemy fire and these losses forced the section to take cover. But, Corporal Budd continued the assault on his own, knowing full well the likely consequences of doing so without the close support of his remaining men. He was wounded but continued to move forward, attacking and killing the enemy as he rushed their position.
“Inspired by Corporal Budd’s example, the rest of the platoon reorganised and pushed forward their attack, eliminating more of the enemy and eventually forcing their withdrawal. Corporal Budd subsequently died of his wounds, and when his body was later recovered it was found surrounded by three dead Taliban.
“Corporal Budd’s conspicuous gallantry during these two engagements saved the lives of many of his colleagues. He acted in the full knowledge that the rest of his men had either been struck down or had been forced to go to ground. His determination to press home a single-handed assault against a superior enemy force despite his wounds stands out as a premeditated act of inspirational leadership and supreme valour. In recognition of this, Corporal Budd is awarded the Victoria Cross.”
