Victoria Cross For Bravery in WWI 1st Muslim Soldier

Story of the first Muslim soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross
As two former heads of the Army call for greater recognition of Khudadad Khan, the first Muslim soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross, we outline who he was and the actions that led to his medal
Telegraph UK
By Edward Malnick
31 Oct 2014

Sepoy Khudadad Khan was awarded the Victoria Cross during World War One

Photo: GETTY

It was an extraordinary act of bravery. Finding himself among the few surviving members of a force sent to repel a German advance at Ypres, a soldier manned a single machine gun to prevent the enemy making the breakthrough it needed.

Continuing to fire until he was the last man remaining, his actions helped to ensure that two vital ports used to supply British troops with food and ammunition from England, remained in Allied hands.

Now, 100 years on from being awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery, a series of military leaders, MPs, peers and Muslim leaders are calling for wider recognition of Khudadad Khan's role in the First World War. The call forms part of a plea for greater appreciation of the contribution of the hundreds of thousands of Muslim soldiers who fought for Britain in the war.

On Friday, unveiling a commemorative stone which will be laid at the National Memorial Arboretum in Khan’s honour, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, the communities minister, will hail his “exceptional loyalty, courage and determination in Britain’s fight for freedom”.

Khan, who was born in the village of Dab in the Punjab province of present day Pakistan, was a 26-year-old machine gunner in the 129th Duke of Counaught’s Own Baluchis when the regiment was sent to France to aid the exhausted troops of the British Expeditionary Force.
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CBT and EMDR A revolution in war-stress UK solutions

A revolution in war-stress solutions
By KATE WIGHTON

Published: Today

TWO shocking stories this week highlighted the struggle many of our brave Forces' personnel face AFTER they leave the battlefield - but revolutionary help is at hand.
Victoria Cross hero, L/Cpl Johnson Beharry revealed how he tried to commit suicide in 2008 by crashing his car at 100mph after battling depression triggered by the horrors of Iraq four years earlier.

Meanwhile, ex-soldier Michael Fong admitted trying to take his own life last month after suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) from his time in Ulster and Iraq.

PTSD is thought to affect one in 20 UK troops and can cause horrendous flashbacks and traumatic nightmares.

But there are now incredible treatments offered to soldiers to help them overcome the ordeals of war, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprogramming (EMDR).

In a session of EMDR, a patient is asked to talk about a traumatic incident while a therapist sends their mind into a similar state to dreaming. The patient is completely awake and aware.

While talking about the incident, their eyes follow a dot moving left to right on a computer screen.

They do this for around three minutes and repeat ten times in a session.

This helps to reprogramme the memory, so a patient can think about an incident without getting upset.



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Traumatised Victoria Cross winner tells of 100mph suicide bid

Aside from the fact this decorated hero is talking about PTSD and his suicide attempt, it also shows that we will never know how many have committed suicide in car accidents and motorcycle accidents. We won't know how many had these accidents while having a flashback or because they did not want to live in pain anymore. We also don't know how many were spared because they finally understood they could heal the scars of war.

• Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry was awarded the Victoria Cross in 2005 for his actions in May and June, 2004. Picture: PA

But he said that despite his bravery, the engagements had left him tortured by nightmares: "During the daytime I can keep busy to keep away the demons, but at night when I'm alone with my thoughts, my mind drifts back to my friends being blown up and all those I left behind."

Traumatised Victoria Cross winner tells of 100mph suicide bid
Date: 18 May 2010
By CRAIG BROWN
A VICTORIA Cross-decorated soldier has told how depression and nightmares pushed to him attempt suicide by driving his car into a lamppost at high speed.




Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, who saw action in Iraq, has said that he hoped the car crash would "be my end" after being tormented by depression and nightmares.

The 30-year-old, who was awarded Britain's highest military honour for twice saving comrades while under fire, said: "Sometimes you just can't get away from the things you have seen."

Speaking out about his problems, he said he had stormed out of his house after an early-morning argument with his partner in December, 2008. The soldier, of the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, drove off and accelerated as he raced down a street in south-east London.

L/Cpl Beharry said: "I picked a lamppost which seemed to be next to a slightly raised section of pavement and drove straight for it. I looked at the road and there was nobody. So I thought if I could hit the side of the pavement and then the lamppost, I could damage the fuel tank and hit the electricity to create a spark which would set the car on fire. So I did it.

"I heard a huge crash as the right hand side of my car collided with the lamppost. I closed my eyes and hoped that would be my end."

His car was destroyed in the 100mph crash, and although L/Cpl Beharry was knocked unconscious, he escaped with minor scrapes and bumps.

The soldier was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in May and June, 2004.

BBC reports:Veteran mental care 'inadequate'

Veteran mental care 'inadequate'

Care offered by the NHS to military veterans with post traumatic stress disorder is "a spit in the ocean", the head of the charity Combat Stress says.

Outgoing chief executive Commodore Toby Elliott says his charity has 9,000 registered patients but the government provides for less than half of them.

He says six community NHS mental health pilot schemes are inadequate and may end up providing patchy service.

The Department of Health says it is working hard to provide adequate care.


Currently, 300 former service personnel who served in Iraq or Afghanistan are being treated by the charity, which looks after veterans with psychological injuries.

In January this year, Britain's highest-decorated serving soldier criticised the government for failing to help ex-servicemen and women suffering mental health problems.

Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, said it was "disgraceful" some veterans struggled to get treatment.
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Soldier awarded VC for Afghanistan bravery

Soldier awarded VC for Afghanistan bravery
By Online parliamentary correspondent Emma Rodgers
A special forces soldier who braved enemy fire to save the life of an interpreter caught in a Taliban ambush has become the first Australian in 40 years to be presented with the Victoria Cross.

The Special Operations Task Group member dashed 80 metres under heavy enemy fire to rescue an injured Afghan interpreter and carry him to safety.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Trooper Donaldson deliberately drew enemy fire away from his wounded comrades during the ambush on Australian, US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province on September 2 last year.

He also administered first aid to others who were wounded before rejoining his patrol to continue fighting

Nine Australian soldiers were wounded in the ambush, the highest in one incident since the Vietnam War.
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