Victoria Cross hero Lance Corporal Joshua Leakey says: 'I was just scared of letting the side down'

Para L Cpl Joshua Leakey showed “complete disregard” for his safety as British forces were attacked by 20 insurgents

Skilled: L Cpl Leakey seized one of the weapons as bullets bounced off its frame

Para Lance Corporal Joshua Leakey’s astonishing bravery under enemy fire has earned him a Victoria Cross but the modest hero says he was only scared of letting down his regiment.
His honour, which has been announced by the Army today, completes an
extraordinary family double because one of his relatives got a VC for gallantry during the Second World War.
L Cpl Leakey, 27, has won the armed forces’ highest award for bravery thanks to his exploits in an assault on a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan in 2013.
Chiefs said he showed “complete disregard” for his safety as British forces were attacked by 20 insurgents armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

PA

Hero: He took control, gave first aid to a wounded US captain and began evacuating casualties

L Cpl Leakey ran to the top of a hill, and with the “snap and crack” of enemy fire all around him, realised that two UK/US machine gun teams had been surrounded.
Despite being the most junior member of the group, he took control, gave first aid to a wounded US captain and began evacuating casualties.
L Cpl Leakey seized one of the weapons as bullets bounced off its frame, then ran down the hill, drawing enemy fire and helping to regain the initiative.
Eleven Taliban fighters were killed and four were wounded in the battle in Helmand province.
L Cpl Leakey today played down his heroics, saying: “You don’t really think what could happen to yourself, you think ‘how is what I’m doing now going to improve the situation?’.

Daily Mirror

Modest: Corporal Joshua Leakey VC played down his heroics

“The only thing I was really scared of was letting my cap badge down. That’s why I joined the Army – to be a Paratrooper. I wasn’t interested in doing anything else.
“My biggest fear is letting the side down... and not doing your cap badge proud.”
L Cpl Leakey, from Hampshire, is only the 15th member of the forces to receive the VC since the Second World War.
His second cousin twice removed – Sgt Nigel Gray Leakey – was a posthumous recipient of the award in 1945 for the heroics that led to his death in Africa in 1941 at the age of 28.
Asked about his brave relative, L Cpl Leakey said: “It’s from my dad’s side of the family – they are very military-orientated.”
He added: “I’ve got a bit of a mad family. There’s a lot of eccentrics.”
L Cpl Leakey, who served on three tours in Afghanistan, said: “I’m lucky – I’m here, I’ve got all my limbs... This award is brilliant, but it’s something I’m accepting on behalf of my regiment and my battalion, of which I’m so proud.”
The investiture will be held at a later date.
But L Cpl Leakey’s honour became official today at a ceremony at Lancaster House, in Central London, attended by Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter.