Members of 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment received their Afghanistan operational medals from the Lord Lieutenant of East Yorkshire, Susan Cunliffe-Lister, on June 22 as part of a Regimental Day at their barracks in Münster.
The watching families were treated to a display by the pipes and drums of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles before the officers and soldiers marched onto the parade square. Medals were then presented by a number of dignitaries including the Lord Lieutenant.
The battalion had an extremely successful tour and saw change and development across theatre during their time.
With companies spread across the whole of central Helmand province, one saw the final transfer of security authority to the Afghan national security forces in Lashkar Gah.
Another company was serving in Nad-e Ali which was entering into the transition process ahead of schedule and the next was instrumental in improving the security in Helmand’s second city, Gereshk.
Other soldiers had the essential role of training both the Afghan National Army and police and providing essential life support to soldiers based in the UK’s main base at Camp Bastion.
The 500 officers and soldiers returned to their base in Münster only a few weeks ago and have spent some well earned leave resting after their challenging tour.
The medal parade marks the end of that tour and provides the opportunity for the families to come together to celebrate and acknowledge the battalion’s achievements during the last six months.
The parade also marks the end of the battalion’s Gurkha Company which was attached to the unit for the tour.
At the end of the parade the Gurkhas broke ranks and said goodbye to the regiment.
Leaving behind the ‘heavy drill’ of the British Army, they reverted to their own drill and marched off the parade square.
This was the first time that soldiers from the Royal Gurkha Rifles had served in Germany and many of the soldiers will miss it.
In Helmand they formed C Coy and were responsible for providing security in Nahr-e Saraj alongside the Danish armed forces.
They were just another example of the numerous roles the battalion completed during their tour.
Their Officer Commanding, Maj Spiro Christopher Marcandonatos said: “This is the last time that the Gurkhas will be with 1 YORKS but one thing that we will take away is essentially that you make a lot of friendships and that we will all meet again sometime, somewhere.
“It is a sad day and hopefully from both sides – but certainly from the Gurkhas’ side – we have learnt so much from 1 YORKS and made lots of friends.
“The Gurkhas brought a different ethos, a different culture and a different way of doing things and in some ways we both learnt from each other with regards to best practice, trying to share it and therefore trying to push forward.”
Even though the battalion was spread across central Helmand, it retained its unique identity and close ties with Yorkshire by holding a number of events to raise awareness of the roles they carried out.
Some of the most notable were the Christmas nativity and filming a video to the Proclaimers. These events were widely publicized and well received.
LCpl Peter Langley, the soldier who played the Angel Gabriel in the Christmas nativity, said this about the parade: “I am very proud, very proud indeed but I was more proud of the boys though.
“Each tour is different and this tour of Afghanistan was a little bit more than I was expecting. It means a lot to the boys to be back and we haven’t forgotten the fallen.
“Today has been an absolute cracking day for the families and the troops.”
The tour was extremely successful but it wasn’t without cost. The battalion lost two of its number, LCpl Gurung and Pte John King. Pte King’s family attended the parade and were presented the Elizabeth cross by the Lord Lieutenant.
The Battalion’s Commanding Officer, Lt Col Dan Bradbury, acknowledged the importance of the medal, saying: “Today we made a point of having a service of both remembrance and thanks to recognise sacrifices of those who have fallen.
“We were delighted to have the family of Pte John King with us today so that they could be presented with the Elizabeth Cross which is a mark of respect from the nation for everything that they have had to endure during the last seven months, ever since he was sadly killed while on operations.”
The importance of the parade was acknowledged by the CO by saying: “Today has been a really important event as it marks the soldiers’ achievements on the tour.
“It also gives us the chance to thank them and recognise the sacrifice of our fallen and most importantly, to thank our families.
“One of the points we have made today is that it’s important to recognise and thank everyone who has been involved with Op Herrick 15, whether they were in Afghanistan, supporting us from the Rear Ops Group or simply ensuring the day-to-day uncertainty of the families.”
