Brave soldier’s courage under fire

Craig Handley is a member of the Territorial Army who serves as a sapper in the Royal Engineers.

Craig (20) is in Afghanistan, two months into a six month tour. His job involves building bases and clearing lethal roadside bombs (IEDs, or “improvised explosive devices”) from roads in some of the most dangerous parts of Helmand Province.

Two weeks ago Craig and his unit were securing one of these roads when they were targeted by small arms fire. One of Craig’s comrades was wounded in this initial attack.

Craig said: “The shots were coming in from about 300 metres away by a presumed sharp shooter.

“The rounds were quite close so we were lucky that nobody else got hurt.”

Craig risked taking a bullet himself to run across open ground and reach a nearby vehicle in order to give covering fire to help the other soldiers in his section.

For the full story, see your News and Chronicle – out now.