On 23rd October 2009 members of the TG Baynes Personal Injury and Clinical Negligence Team attended Headway’s 2009 Brain Injury Conference. Informative seminars were given on Critical Care and the NHS, Headway’s Involvement at King’s College Hospital, Disability Living Allowance, Clinical Rehabilitation Leading on to Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Educational and Vocational Opportunities.
The guest speaker Private Johnson Beharry, 1st BN, Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment was invested with his Victoria Cross by Her Majesty the Queen at a ceremony held in Buckingham Palace on 27th April 2005. The Victoria Cross is the highest award made for gallantry.
Private Beharry gave a very interesting talk about his life and how he found himself as part of the Royal Regiment.
Private Beharry carried out two individual acts of great heroism by which he saved the lives of his comrades whilst serving in Iraq. Both were in direct face of the enemy, under intense fire and risking his own life on both occasions. Unfortunately one of these heroic acts led to him sustaining very serious brain injuries.
In the early hours of 1st May 2004 Private Beharry’s company was ordered to replenish an isolated Coalition Force outpost located in the centre of the troubled city of Al Amarah. He was the driver of a platoon commander’s Warrior armoured fighting vehicle. His company were re-tasked to fight through a series of enemy ambushes and were tasked over the radio to come to the assistance of the remainder of the company, who were attempting to extract the isolated foot patrol. As he was driving through the city, his vehicle was immediately hit by multiple rocket-propelled grenades. As a result of this initial firing, both the platoon commander and the vehicle’s gunner were incapacitated by concussion and other wounds and a number of the soldiers in the rear of the vehicle were also wounded. Private Beharry was unable to communicate with either his turret crew or any of the other Warrior vehicles deployed around him and he did not know if his commander or crewmen were still alive, or how serious their injuries may be. On his own initiative, he closed the driver’s hatch and moved forward through the ambush position. Whilst doing so, his vehicle was hit again by sustained rocket-propelled grenade attacks from insurgent fighters. The result of this was that his vehicle caught fire and began to rapidly fill with noxious smoke. Private Beharry opened up his armoured hatch cover to clear his view and he led the convoy of six Warrior vehicles into an enemy-controlled area of the city at night. He assessed that the best course of action to save the lives of his crew was to push through, out of ambush and he drove his Warrior vehicle directly through the barricade, not knowing if there were any mines or explosive devices placed there to destroy the vehicle. In such bravery, he was able to lead the remaining five Warriors behind him towards safety.
However, his vehicle was still coming under fire with further rocket-propelled grenades. In the impact, the hatch was damaged and this forced Private Beharry to drive his vehicle through the remainder of the ambushed route (some 1500 metres), with his hatch open and his head exposed to enemy fire. During this long surge through the ambushes, his vehicle was again struck by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire and he himself was hit by a 7.62m bullet, which penetrated his helmet but fortunately did not penetrate his skull.
Private Beharry continued to push through the extended ambush, leading his platoon until he broke clear. Private Beharry then noticed another Warrior from his company which was also under small arms fire. Without thought for his own personal safety, Private Beharry climbed onto the turret of the still-burning vehicle and managed to pull the wounded platoon commander out of the turret, off the vehicle and to the safety of another nearby Warrior. Private Beharry also returned once again to his vehicle and again mounted the exposed turret to lift out the vehicle’s gunner and also move him to a position of safety. Private Beharry then remounted his burning vehicle for a third time and drove it through a complex chicane and into the security of the defended perimeter of the outpost. Only at this stage did Private Beharry pull the fire extinguisher handles, immobilising the engine of the vehicle, dismounted and then moved himself into the relative safety of the back of another Warrior. Following this incident Private Beharry collapsed from the sheer physical and mental exhaustion of his efforts and was subsequently himself evacuated.
On another occasion on 11th June 2004, Private Beharry’s Warrior was part of a quick reaction force tasked to attempt to cut off a mortar team that had attacked a Coalition Force based in Al Amarah. On this occasion his vehicle was ambushed by the enemy from a series of rooftop positions. A rocket-propelled grenade detonated on the vehicle’s frontal armour, just six inches from Private Beharry’s head, resulting in him sustaining a serious head injury. Other rockets struck the turret and side of the vehicle, incapacitating his commander and injuring several of his crew.
With the blood from his head injury obscuring his vision, Private Beharry managed to continue to control his vehicle and reverse the Warrior out of the ambushed area. He then lost consciousness as a result of his wounds. He quite courageously saved the lives of his fellow comrades. He was listed as being very seriously injured following this incident and was in a coma for quite some time.
Private Beharry displayed extreme gallantry and unquestioned valour despite intense direct attacks, personal injury and damage to his vehicle in the face of relentless enemy action.