On December 19, 2006 I did a post about “a wee slip of a gel”, Michelle “Chuck” Norris, late of C Company, 1 Bn the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. She had been awarded the British Military Cross for her bravery in action in Iraq. That’s the equal of our Silver Star.
Andrew Stuttaford notes a new story about this bonny lass.

Citation:

“At just 19 years of age and having only recently completed basic training, Private Michelle Norris was deployed as a medical orderly with The Queen’s Royal Hussars Battle Group in Al Amarah, Southern Iraq. 11 June 2006 saw the largest and most intense battle in Iraq since 2004. A search operation in Al Amarah turned into a war fighting engagement when her Company Group came under heavy, accurate and sustained attack from a well organised enemy force of over 200.

“During the heaviest of the fighting the company commander’s group came under accurate sniper fire and the commander of the Warrior carrying Private Norris was shot in the face and seriously injured. Private Norris realised the severity of the situation immediately and without thought or care for her own personal safety, she dismounted and climbed onto the top of the Warrior to administer life saving first aid to the casualty. On seeing her on the top of the Warrior the sniper opened fire again, firing a further three rounds at her, one hitting the radio mounted on the side of the turret inches from her leg. Despite this she continued to administer first aid through the commander’s hatch to the casualty until the gunner pulled her into the turret for her own safety.

“Despite the very real risks from sniper fire, heavy small arms fire and rocket propelled grenade she deliberately ignored the danger to her own life in order to administer live saving first aid to the commander of the vehicle. Private Norris’s actions on 11 June were extremely courageous and outstandingly brave and have rightly earned her the Military Cross for actions to save the life of a comrade when under fire.”

The Telegraph

“It was my first casualty since training, which was pretty scary,” she said. “On arrival at the scene, we stopped and when I heard ‘dings’ off the Warrior, I thought it was stones.

“All of a sudden, the driver shouted down to me that my commander had been hit. I didn’t know where he’d been shot and how bad it was at this stage.

“So I jumped out the back of the Warrior, climbed up on top of the turret, looked down and saw the extent of his injuries.

“In training you always get told to assess the situation first and then, if it’s safe to do so, to go forward. But that day I didn’t think about my own safety. I just knew I had to get him.

“I suppose I knew there were bullets, but I didn’t know how many and you don’t think, ‘I need to be brave’, you think, ‘I just need to get to him’.”

As she carried on with her rescue mission she could hear the “crack and thump” of rounds going past her head. Once Sgt Page was safely in the back of the vehicle she began to check his vital signs and administer first aid.

Pte Norris, whose most serious casualty beforehand had been a soldier with an infected mosquito bite, worked hard to prevent her comrade from going into shock.

“I just talked to him, I just kept saying, ‘Dad, are you with me? Dad stay with me’, until we got him to the casualty helicopter.”

Nine months later the young medic finds it “amazing” that she has been awarded the Military Cross. “I never thought I’d go down in history for something I did,” she said.

“I can’t explain it, I really can’t. It’s well over my head.”

Pte Norris, 19, who is nicknamed Chuck after the film star, dreamed of becoming a soldier from an early age.

“I remember sitting on my dad’s knee watching old war movies and documentaries, because he loves his history. I remember watching ‘The Battle of Britain,’ and we could both say the words before they came out of the actors’ mouths.

“And the next morning, I would wake up thinking, ‘I want to be a soldier. I want to do all that’. At 15 she was already in her second year as an Army cadet in Stourbridge and, although she did reasonably well at her GCSEs, her mind was focussed on one career.

“I wanted to join the artillery,” she said. “I went up for selection as soon as I could, but I failed on my fitness: I took two seconds too long on the mile-and-a-half run and I could only do two pull-ups and you had to do four.”

Devastated, she spent a year at college before trying again. This time she cut a full two minutes off her running time and managed nine pull-ups. She joined the RAMC and after nine months’ training was posted to Germany with 1 Close Support Medical Regt.

“After a while, they said they were looking for volunteers for Iraq and I thought that was what I wanted to join for, so I just put my hand straight up.”

Her mother, Susan, 55, recalls how she tried to make light of her heroism when she phoned home.

“I knew there had been an incident and I knew she was in a difficult situation, but Michelle played it down.

“When I realised the full enormity of it I broke down and cried. It was a mix of horror that she could have died and pride over what she had done.

“I just thank God she is alive. I’m so proud of her. We are all very, very proud.”

Mrs Norris said she and her husband, Peter, had not wanted their daughter – the youngest of their three children – to join up, but said they had supported her all the way.

Mr Norris, 58, confessed: “I’d prefer it if she was working in McDonald’s or something like that but that wouldn’t be Michelle. She gets on with all the lads out there. She’s a bit of a ladette.”

Michelle Suzanne Claire Norris – Military Cross, one of Britain’s highest awards for gallantry in combat

Evening Standard

An eighteen year-old Army medic has become the first woman ever to win the Military Cross, one of Britain’s highest awards for gallantry in combat.

Private Michelle Norris braved heavy sniper and machine-gun fire from 200 insurgents during a fierce battle in southern Iraq earlier this year, clambering on top of an armoured vehicle to give life-saving treatment to a severely wounded comrade, ignoring the bullets smashing into the turret around her.

It was the first time she had ever been confronted with a casualty on the battlefield.

The teenager, who had dreamed of joining the Army after watching old war movies with her father as a child, spoke of her pride at receiving the coveted medal, and said she hoped the award would help convince doubters that women can cope well with the dangers of frontline combat.

At a special ceremony in London yesterday the head of Britain’s armed forces Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup described the astonishing bravery which led to her ground-breaking gallantry award.

The Military Cross is awarded to soldiers ‘for exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy’, and ranks only below the Victoria Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Cross as a recognition of bravery in battle.

Michelle Norris was a newly-qualified private in the Royal Army Medical Corps, only a few months out of basic training, and was sent to Iraq last summer as a company medic with the 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, aged just 18.

On June 11th this year her unit was caught up in ‘the largest and most intense battle in Iraq since 2004′, according to her medal citation, and ‘came under heavy, accurate and sustained attack from a well organised enemy force of over 200.’

At the peak of the battle the commander of her Warrior armoured vehicle was shot in the face and seriously injured while standing with his head outside the turret hatch. She climbed out of the vehicle and onto the turret to give first aid. Seeing this, enemy snipers concentrated their fire on the Warrior, sending bullets smashing into the armour ‘inches from her leg.’ Pte Norris continued giving treatment regardless, until other soldiers dragged her to safety inside the vehicle.

Speaking at the ceremony Michelle, now 19, told how the wounded man, Colour Sergeant Ian Page, was a good friend, and ‘like a father to me.’

She recalled: ‘The gunner shouted down to me that the vehicle commander was injured. I couldn’t see how badly until I got out of the vehicle. ‘A bullet had hit his rifle and actually gone through it and into his face. ‘At first I didn’t realise they were still firing at us. I was more worried about whether I would remember all the training and do the right thing, but it did all come rushing back to me.

‘I remember the gunner yelling at me to get down. I heard rounds come whizzing past my head and I thought ‘Yes, I probably do need to get down now. ‘Before I could move he grabbed me and dragged me down into the vehicle.’

Thanks to her bravery Colour Sgt Page subsequently made a full recovery and has since returned to duty.

Pte Norris said: ‘I’ve always wanted to join up. I was a bit of Tomboy as a girl, and was always out playing in the woods with my brother. I joined the cadets at 13, and really enjoyed it.

‘This medal hasn’t really sunk in. I’m really proud to be the first woman to get the MC. ‘I know some people doubt whether we can work properly on the frontline. I hope I’ve proved we can. ‘We do the job to the best of our abilities, and sometimes even better than the men.’

Michelle’s mother Susan and father Peter, from Stourbridge, West Midlands, voiced their delight at her award.

The parents of Michelle Norris last night told the Daily Mail of their immense pride in their daughter, who is now based in Germany.

Susan Norris, 55, said yesterday: ‘It is impossible to put into words how I feel. ‘I am so proud of Michelle – it is just amazing what she has achieved. ‘But at the same time I feel so sad for all of the people who have lost their lives out there. And for their families. ‘It is a real mix of emotions.”

Mrs Norris, a full time carer, added: ‘We had no idea before that Michelle was the first woman to get a Military Cross. ‘It is overwhelming. ‘None of us dreamt this would happen when she joined the army two years ago. ‘She loves her job and were are so grateful that she is safe. ‘She has done incredibly well and her brother and sister are so so proud of her too. ‘Now we are all looking forward to her being home for Christmas.”

Peter Norris, 58, added: ‘Seeing Michelle get the award brought a tear to my eye. ‘We are so proud of her and it has been a very emotional day. Especially when you think of her fellow soldiers who never made it home.’

Michelle said: ‘I didn’t want to tell my parents too much about it at the time, as I didn’t want them to worry. ‘They’ve all been a bit worried while I was away, although my mum was the worst.’

Ministry of Defence

Commenting on the actions of Pte Norris, her Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Labouchere MBE, said:

“Private Norris acted completely selflessly and, in the face of great danger, concentrated on her job and saved someone else’s life. She is part of a larger team, all of whom are acquitting themselves admirably when faced with danger.”

Scotsman

In a statement released yesterday, Pte Norris, nicknamed “Chuck”, who only recently qualified as a medic with the Royal Army Medical Corps, described the ordeal. She said: “[The incident] brought it home to me and I realised why I was here. It was my first casualty since training, which was pretty scary.

“On arrival at the scene, we stopped and when I heard ‘dings’ off the Warrior, I thought it was stones. All of a sudden, the driver, Private Nani Ratawake, shouted down to me that my commander had been hit.

“I jumped out the back of the Warrior, climbed up on top of the turret, looked down, and saw the extent of his injuries. I then heard the crack and a thump of a round going past my head. I was under fire from a sniper, which luckily just missed me.

“Ratawake pulled me down head first into the turret. A round went over and hit a battery which was at my knee height, so if he hadn’t pulled me down at that point, my knee or my leg would have been shot. We managed to cross the turret and get my commander into the back, where one of the lads put a sweat rag over him. I got through and administered first aid, put a dressing on and checked his vital signs,” she said.

Pte Nani Ratawake, who is known as “Destroyer”, then drove to the helicopter landing point, where the casualty, who has not been named, was taken to a military field hospital.