War hero sel raise £120,00
AN IRAQ war hero who braved rocket-propelled grenades to rescue nine stranded colleagues is selling his gallantry medals to help secure his family’s future.
Warrant Officer Terrence Thomson made the difficult decision to sell his medals – expected to fetch £120,000 at auction – to help look after his wife and children now he has left the Armed Forces.
The 45-year-old won the prized Conspicuous Gallantry Cross (CGC) after he was summoned to help a group of British soldiers holed up in a compound in Basra in August 2004.
W/O Thomson from Littlehampton, West Sussex, said he was in command of a Warrior armed vehicle when it came under fire, knocking out the communications system.
“We got hit by a bloke firing from 60m down an alleyway. When an RPG hits you feel the bang against the armour and the noise is unbelievable – it almost stuns you for a second. One round smashed one of the periscopes which was sat right next to my kidneys,” he said. “My arms and legs were shaking.”
He went on to kill three gunmen with two hand grenades and said he shot a fourth when a militant “came out and stood right in front of me”.
His actions destroyed the enemy’s position and gave the stranded troops time to escape which is why he was awarded the CGC by Prince Charles in 2005.
Mark Quayle, medal specialist at Mayfair auctioneers Dix Noonan Webb, said: “Second only to the Victoria Cross, the CGC is a scarce and prestigious award which we are very fortunate to be selling on behalf of W/O Thomson. Such awards are rare to the market, and I am sure that this, combined with the recipient’s outstanding and gallant career, will lead to a strong price on the day of the sale.”
W/O Thomson, who is also selling off several other service medals, said he was shocked when his commanding officer told him he was to receive the CGC.
“I stood up, went red and couldn’t think of anything to say. I didn’t even know what a CGC was – my mate looked it up on the internet and filled me in, which was when I realised it was quite serious.”