Young soldier's bravery medal (From Daily Echo)

Young soldier's bravery medal

1:12pm Friday 7th March 2008 in News By Andrew Napier

A YOUNG Hampshire soldier has won the Military Cross for bravery only days after arriving in Iraq.

Second Lieutenant Rupert Lane led a platoon of raw soldiers to repulse a fierce attack by insurgents in Basra.

The assault was so sudden that several of the men fought wearing shorts and flip-flops.

Led by 2nd Lt Lane, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, they held off the attackers for more than four hours into the night. It was the heaviest fighting in Basra since 2003.

During the battle they were attacked with mortars, machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The soldiers fired about 10,000 bullets and had to use cooking oil because they ran out of gun oil.

Now 2nd Lt Lane, 25, whose parents Simon and Wendy Lane live in Winchester, has been awarded the MC for his "courage and inspiring leadership"

during his six-month tour last year.

The MC is the third highest honour for bravery after the Victoria Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.

Second Lt Lane's heroism came just weeks before a colleague in the 4th Battalion Major Paul Harding, also from Winchester, was killed by a mortar attack in Basra.

Second Lt Lane was based at Basra Palace for three months as a platoon commander. Part of their duties was to travel to the Provisional Joint Co-ordination Centre (PJCC) about two miles away to resupply soldiers.

During the night of May 25, just a week after arriving in Iraq, he was at the PJCC when it was attacked by the Jaysh al Mahdi.

With other soldiers, they ran to the roof of the five-storey building to fire machine guns and rifles at the insurgents.

"It was incredibly hot and very dark. The water we were drinking was as hot as tea," he recalled.

"They were trying to get closer, but luckily we were quite successful with our firing so we kept them away until air cover I'd called for arrived and took out their command team which was quite crucial for us.

"It was an awesome experience and it is what I joined the Army for. The most exciting part was commanding the blokes I was with and getting to know them."

He paid tribute to his soldiers, mostly even younger than him: "They never fail to impress, and getting this award is for all those riflemen - they deserve it.

"I wouldn't be here if it was not for the 22 other guys, they were absolutely outstanding, straight out of training from Catterick and doing a superb job. I just told them what to do and they did it, I could not have asked for anything more."

After hearing he had been awarded the MC, 2nd Lt Lane said: "I thought that I had been called to the Commanding Officer's office because three of my platoon were receiving awards. It came as a shock when I found out that I was getting one too. I'm chuffed to bits, but the whole platoon deserved it."

He joined 4 Rifles in January 2007 after reading war studies and history at King's College London University and attending Sandhurst.