- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
Company Sergeant Major Darren Leigh, who died on Saturday (his 37th birthday), was awarded the MC while serving with the 1st Battalion the Queen‘s Lancashire Regiment in Basra, Iraq, in 2003.
In the baking heat of summer, frustration at the seeming lack of progress in repairing the country‘s infrastructure boiled over into violence. Electricity cables had been looted, and the citizens of Basra were unable to use air conditioners.
Low levels of production at the oil refinery led to long queues for petrol - lines of motorists, often three deep, sometimes stretched for several miles. On August 9, with temperatures climbing to 55 degrees centigrade, the battalion had to deal with a number of outbreaks of violent disorder.
By the evening, the centre of the city had been brought under control; but in a hamlet on the bank of the Shatt Al Arab waterway, a large crowd gathered outside an Iraqi police station.
Leigh, with about 30 soldiers, crossed the pontoon bridge to be confronted by a mob approximately 300 strong, which surged forward hurling bricks in an attempt to overwhelm the police station.
Leigh organised his small force into a line, and ordered the firing of plastic baton rounds to hold back the crowd. When his men came under small arms fire, he ordered his troops into cover and returned fire in person.
Reinforcements had been held up by a gun battle on the bridge and, when he realised they were unlikely to arrive, he decided to advance upon the crowd.
While Leigh was giving his orders, a grenade exploded, wounding him in the legs; but he led a baton charge which unnerved the rioters and forced them to withdraw and disperse.
For his quick thinking, determination and courage under fire, he was awarded the MC. The citation also stated that his leadership of a small group of soldiers against a much larger force had done much to enhance the credibility of British troops in Basra.
Darren William Leigh was born at Salford, Lancashire, on April 24 1967. He was educated at Moorside High School at Swinton, Lancashire, and joined the Queen‘s Lancashire Regiment when he was 17.
Two years later, while serving in West Belfast, his patrol rescued a four-man team which had been cornered by a large crowd of Nationalists.
After a successful operational tour in East Tyrone, Leigh was promoted sergeant and awarded a GOC‘s Commendation for his services to the families of victims of the Omagh bombing.
Leigh was a gregarious, assertive character who had a good mind and was not afraid to speak it. He was twice reduced in rank, but his faults were small ones and did not hinder his progress.
An enthusiastic Rugby League player, he took the lead in forming a battalion and, subsequently, an Army representative side which won recognition for the sport in the Army. He played, and later coached, for the Army and then became a referee.
Leigh collapsed at his home in Cyprus, where the 1st Battalion is posted. He was taken to hospital after apparently suffering a brain haemorrhage, but his life-support machine was turned off on Saturday.
The official announcement of the award of his MC was made on Friday, but he had been given the news by his commanding officer the previous day.
Darren Leigh married, in 1986, Marie Webster, who survives him with their daughter.
In the baking heat of summer, frustration at the seeming lack of progress in repairing the country‘s infrastructure boiled over into violence. Electricity cables had been looted, and the citizens of Basra were unable to use air conditioners.
Low levels of production at the oil refinery led to long queues for petrol - lines of motorists, often three deep, sometimes stretched for several miles. On August 9, with temperatures climbing to 55 degrees centigrade, the battalion had to deal with a number of outbreaks of violent disorder.
By the evening, the centre of the city had been brought under control; but in a hamlet on the bank of the Shatt Al Arab waterway, a large crowd gathered outside an Iraqi police station.
Leigh, with about 30 soldiers, crossed the pontoon bridge to be confronted by a mob approximately 300 strong, which surged forward hurling bricks in an attempt to overwhelm the police station.
Leigh organised his small force into a line, and ordered the firing of plastic baton rounds to hold back the crowd. When his men came under small arms fire, he ordered his troops into cover and returned fire in person.
Reinforcements had been held up by a gun battle on the bridge and, when he realised they were unlikely to arrive, he decided to advance upon the crowd.
While Leigh was giving his orders, a grenade exploded, wounding him in the legs; but he led a baton charge which unnerved the rioters and forced them to withdraw and disperse.
For his quick thinking, determination and courage under fire, he was awarded the MC. The citation also stated that his leadership of a small group of soldiers against a much larger force had done much to enhance the credibility of British troops in Basra.
Darren William Leigh was born at Salford, Lancashire, on April 24 1967. He was educated at Moorside High School at Swinton, Lancashire, and joined the Queen‘s Lancashire Regiment when he was 17.
Two years later, while serving in West Belfast, his patrol rescued a four-man team which had been cornered by a large crowd of Nationalists.
After a successful operational tour in East Tyrone, Leigh was promoted sergeant and awarded a GOC‘s Commendation for his services to the families of victims of the Omagh bombing.
Leigh was a gregarious, assertive character who had a good mind and was not afraid to speak it. He was twice reduced in rank, but his faults were small ones and did not hinder his progress.
An enthusiastic Rugby League player, he took the lead in forming a battalion and, subsequently, an Army representative side which won recognition for the sport in the Army. He played, and later coached, for the Army and then became a referee.
Leigh collapsed at his home in Cyprus, where the 1st Battalion is posted. He was taken to hospital after apparently suffering a brain haemorrhage, but his life-support machine was turned off on Saturday.
The official announcement of the award of his MC was made on Friday, but he had been given the news by his commanding officer the previous day.
Darren Leigh married, in 1986, Marie Webster, who survives him with their daughter.
