Army hero sells medals

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Regimental Sergeant Major Nicholas Pettit had already been awarded a Queen's Gallantry Medal and Joint Commander's Commendation for Gallantry in Bosnia.

When he left the Army in 2004 he was one of the most decorated soldiers in the Service.

Now RSM Pettit, who was born in Barnet and grew up in Tottenham, is selling the three honours, plus other campaign medals. He expects to get up to £40,000 for them at auction at Dix Noonan Webb in Piccadilly tomorrow.

The 45-year-old, who now works for a construction firm, said today: "I'm proud of what I did - but medals are medals and my family comes first. When I die I didn't want them to go to just one son - that wouldn't be fair. And I didn't want to split them up because they would lose their value.

"So we sat down as a family and talked it through. It was a family decision to sell. We will do something with the money to make a fantastic memory - go abroad, have a fantastic holiday, something like that."

RSM Pettit, a bomb disposal expert with the Royal Engineers, braved enemy fire in Iraq to clear a path through a minefield to a bombdamaged Land Rover in March 2003. Then he led four RAF men to safety, carrying the worst wounded over his shoulder. The next day he cleared 26 anti-tank mines.

He joined the Army at 16 and served 25 years. He has four sons - Harry, six, Luke, seven, Matthew, 12, and Sam, 19. His autobiography, Modern Day Hero, was published last year.