The Lancashire Telegraph reported on 26th March 2011 that two Lancashire soldiers serving in Afghanistan have been awarded military accolades for heroism on duty. The soldiers took to quad bikes, putting their lives at risk, to save colleagues following an attack on the squad.
While they remained under threat, one of the soldiers used an ATV to drive to a civilian vehicle holding several injured people. The vehicle had been caught up in the attack on the soldiers, among them women and small children. While still at risk of a secondary device blast the soldiers drove the quad bikes to rescue the injured civilians.
One of the soldiers told the Lancashire Telegraph reporter that he left with three people on his quad bike, took them to safety and then just kept returning for more until they were all out of harm’s way and could be tended to. The soldiers not only risked their lives rescuing civilians using Honda ATVs, but they also risked their own safety by jumping into a ditch and carrying out a number of soldiers who had been blown into the ditch, wading through water to safety.
The soldiers, from the 1st Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, were on patrol at the time in central Helmand when the routine patrol turned into carnage. Without their bravery and quick thinking by way of the use of the quad bikes the incident could have claimed several lives. Despite the risk the soldiers put themselves in, both said they were shocked at the recognition they received.