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Brave North East soldiers receive awards

Sep 26 2010 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

Rifleman Daniel Nickson who is to receive the Queen's Commendation for Bravery for service in Afghanistan. Photo by Sergeant Ian Forsyth RLC/PA Wire

A NORTH soldier who dived into a freezing canal to rescue a comrade after he was blown up by a Taliban bomb has been given one of the highest awards for bravery.

Rifleman Daniel Nickson, 23, and his colleague Second Lieutenant Connor Maxwell, 22, plunged into fast-flowing waters to pull the unconscious soldier out and take him to safety.

Now the pair – both of 3rd Battalion the Rifles – have each been awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery.

Rfn Nickson, from Darlington, County Durham, was hailed for his “courage and selflessness” in risking his own life by leaping into the fast-flowing canal in Helmand on December 15 last year.

The pair were among 131 servicemen and women – including many from the region – who have been awarded medals in the latest military honours list, nine posthumously.

Acting Corporal Andrew Wardle, 22, of 2nd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, has received the Military Cross for his bravery during his tour of Helmand mentoring Afghan soldiers.

On one occasion, he shunned treatment and fought off a Taliban attack despite suffering concussion when he was knocked to the ground by a rocket-propelled grenade.

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