Soldiers honoured for war actions

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Servicemen from the Army and Royal Marines were awarded OBEs, MBEs, CBEs, Distinguished Service Orders (DSOs) and Military Crosses (MCs). The roll-call included 19 Military Crosses and four Distinguished Service Orders.

Included in the list of 136 soldiers is Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher, a Royal Marine reservist given the George Cross for throwing himself on a grenade in Afghanistan to save comrades.

L/Cpl Croucher, who survived the incident, is the only serviceman to receive the top award for gallantry in this year's list.

Among the other Royal Marines to be awarded an honour was Major Daniel Cheesman, from Salisbury, who was made an MBE for repeatedly defeating the Taliban on the battlefield while working to improve living conditions for the local Afghan population.

He said: "If you've ever watched war films where it looks a bit hairy, well that's what it's like.

"Everything you'd imagine soldiering to be about, that's how it is. It was amazing."

Another marine, Mkhuseli Jones, from Aberdare, who was awarded an MC, described being ambushed by Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in January. He said: "We came under intense pressure but we managed to turn the situation round by firing back at the Taliban until they gave up."

He was awarded the MC for targeting "the enemy remorselessly whenever the opportunity arose". He was praised for leading his comrades to safety "from situations of extreme danger on numerous occasions".

Members of the Royal Gurkha Rifles also received awards, having been flown in from Brunei especially for the ceremony.