Prince thanks volunteer troops for war bravery

JCB worker Ian Barks protected Army medics from Taliban fighters as they attended soldiers wounded in conflict.

Under threat of suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices and rocket attack the Territorial Army soldier went to the frontline to help injured colleagues.

Yesterday the 35-year-old was among TA soldiers thanked by the Prince of Wales.

The Colonel-in-Chief of the 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment honoured 80 soldiers for their actions during a six-month tour of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan had been the first TA deployment for Private Barks, from Kingsley, but it wasn't his first taste of military life.

He signed up as a Royal Marine recruit as a younger man, but was medically discharged after breaking his right femur on a training exercise.

Despite being told by an Army medic he would "never solider again", the TA soldier was still keen to serve.

Four years ago, the former Cheadle High School pupil, enlisted at the TA Centre in Bucknall New Road.

And yesterday he met Prince Charles to receive a campaign medal for his part in Operation Telic 10.

The soldiers paraded from Wellington Barracks, in Birdcage Walk, to Prince Charles's home at Clarence House.

They wore desert combats and were accompanied by a military band and their regimental mascot, pedigree ram Private Derby.

Traffic was stopped as they marched from the barracks along St James' Park, past Buckingham Palace, the Queen Victoria Memorial and along The Mall.

Private Barks, pictured far right, is on post-operational leave from JCB, where he works building booms for diggers, until January. He returned from Afghanistan in October.

He found out he was to serve in Afghanistan in December.

"I got an A4 envelope through my door one morning just before Christmas," said Private Barks. "We broke up from JCB on the Friday for Christmas and I was mobilised in January.

"There's a feeling of trepidation. You think 'are you up to the job', you don't know what the post holds and there's still a little bit of the snobbery between TA and the regular soldiers – but the gap is closing."

Private Barks was called up because of his advanced driving skills. He holds the civilian HGV licence.

"They needed a particular skill set," he explained. "I have my HGV licence so it's a simple conversion course to drive some of the vehicles. I was driving armoured Land Rovers mostly."

The initial role of the TA soldiers was to protect the base, but it was gradually expanded.

Private Barks was on 24-hour duty rota to take medics to a waiting helicopter if there was a shout for assistance from the battlefield.

He would then travel with the medical team as protection.

He said: "By the end of the six months, it's hard to say what's scary. There's that much going on.

"You will see a red flash in that sky and you wonder was that for us? It's very confusing but all eyes come together to form one picture.

"A lot of my close mates don't bother asking me about what happened over there. Some people will want to know a gory story. I don't tell them."

Corporal Susan Vaughan, pictured left, also collected her medal from Prince Charles yesterday. Her deployment to Afghanistan was her first tour since she joined the TA 14 years ago wanting to do "something different".

It was the second time she met Prince Charles, as he awarded her a 10-year long service medal in 2005.

Corporal Vaughan works with adults with learning difficulties for Cheshire East Council.

The 46-year-old serves as a chef with the TA and was part of a team of up to 40 cooks working a shift system to make sure the 5,000 troops at the base were well fed.

In the morning soldiers receive a full English breakfast, lunch involves a smaller meal such as pizza or a pie and at night soldiers get a choice of five different meals. Corporal Vaughan started work at 5.30am and managed a salad bar.

She said: "To get there, you fly in to Kandahar and then a flight to the base.

"You just think you're going to get blown out of the air. I didn't like the flight. You always fly at night.

"Nothing ever happened, but you always fear the worst.

"You do worry. I worry about the lads that are going out of the base and what they are doing.

"They have suicide bombers, they were outside of the camp so I didn't really see anything going on but you heard about it.

"When someone got killed you had a big parade within the camp and you stand there to pay your respect and give your support. It brings out strong emotions. You don't always know the person, but it's one of ours at the end of the day."

Corporal Vaughan, who lives with her mum Muriel, aged 77, in Crewe, said her employer had been fantastic with its support, sending her letters while she was overseas.