from The Times September 3, 2007 Michael Evans
Victoria Crosses may be awarded to an officer and a soldier of the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment in southern Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Defence said yesterday that it was considering the citations but it was too early to know whether the highest bravery award would be given. “No decisions will be made until next spring,” a spokesman said.
Reports from within the regiment indicated that nominations had already been put forward for Captain David Hicks, 26, who was killed by the Taleban last month during an attack on his forward base in the Helmand province, and for Lance Corporal Oliver Ruecker, 20, who rescued a comrade under enemy fire.
Alun Hicks, the father of Captain Hicks, said he had not been told of his son’s nomination for a VC. “As far as we’re concerned, he is firmly a hero in the minds of our family,” he said.
