Helmand Province 2007

20 year old L/Cpl Oliver "Teddy" Ruecker of B Company, the Royal Anglians risked his life to save a comrade. I wanted to paint this picture after reading about L/Cpl Ruecker in the Daily Telegraph article below:

As bullets and rockets flew around him, L/Cpl Oliver "Teddy" Ruecker had to make a choice: to keep his head down or risk his life to save one of his comrades. I didn't really think at the time. I just did it," he said. What 20-year-old L/Cpl Ruecker did could now lead to him receiving the military's highest decoration, the Victoria Cross.

His company commander described his actions as "outstanding heroism" but there was no indication of the drama to come when the unit left the British base in the town of Sangin in Afghanistan's Helmand province. An intelligence briefing said there was very little threat of enemy attack but within two minutes the column of Viking armoured vehicles found itself under an intense barrage while trapped in a strip of land 30ft wide overlooked by high, thick-walled compounds. From the parapets Taliban fighters bombarded the 100 men of B Company, the Royal Anglians with rocket-propelled grenades, AK47 gunfire and a well-positioned 12.7mm DshK heavy machinegun. In the crosshairs of this maelstrom was the Viking of L/Cpl Ruecker. When an RPG round detonated on the rear cabin it ignited the cans of diesel stored on the roof. Cpl Dean Bailey, who was standing in the turret, was engulfed in flames that also poured into the cramped interior, threatening the half-dozen soldiers inside. With 30lb of plastic explosive on board there was no choice but to abandon the vehicle. L/Cpl Ruecker was the first man out and sprinted down an alley to find cover. But he ran into a Taliban fighter who was apparently delighting in the successful attack. "Luckily for me he wasn't concentrating on the battle," the trained sniper told The Daily Telegraph yesterday. "He was carrying an AK47 so I drew my pistol and killed him, emptying my magazine of 13 rounds from 10 yards away."

L/Cpl Ruecker then attempted to get into another Viking but it was full and it was then he realised that Cpl Bailey was missing. Looking back at the blazing Viking he realised that his comrade was still inside and at any moment the flames could ignite the plastic explosive. As he watched, another three RPG rounds hit the vehicle. It took just a second for the soldier to decide to return to the burning wreck. "I was scared s***less," he said. "When I got to the Viking I could not see much because of the thick black smoke. I found Deano lying on the floor very badly injured and barely conscious."

The corporal had taken the brunt of an RPG round that had torn off most of his left arm. He also took a bullet in the chest and head after throwing off his burning body armour and was suffering a collapsed lung. "I made a quick assessment and realised I had to get him the hell out of there. I grabbed hold of Deano by his one good arm and began dragging him along the ground shouting everything was going to be fine." The soldier then braved a furious barrage of bullets and rockets as he dragged his friend to a nearby Viking. A medic helped him get Cpl Bailey inside the vehicle but L/Cpl Ruecker's ordeal was not over yet as he had to run another 100 yards to another Viking because there was no room. When he made it his colleagues began checking him for a wound because he was covered in his friend's blood.

"I then went into a little bit of shock and smoked about 20 cigarettes in five minutes," he said. "I did not think it was brave - I just did it. I knew I had to get him out." Considering the firepower employed by their attackers it was remarkable that none of the Royal Anglians was killed although three were seriously injured. During the encounter, 11 Taliban were killed by the patrol and another nine died under air attacks. Cpl Bailey was taken to Camp Bastion, where surgeons operated for more than seven hours to save his life. He regained consciousness only earlier this week. In just over two months L/Cpl has been involved in 20 firefights in which it has been confirmed that he shot dead seven Taliban and probably accounted for up to a score. "I don't feel anything about it, to be honest," he said yesterday after returning to Camp Bastion from another combat mission. "That's what you do, that's your job. It's like fixing a car for a mechanic." He admitted that the Sangin incident had "changed me a bit". He had become quieter and more introspective. "The blokes always ask if I am OK and tell me that they are proud of me and I am a brave lad," he added. Although the soldier, from Norfolk, had explained to his father what had happened he told his mother only that "it had got a bit hairy".

Major Mick Aston, the commander of B Company, said: "The battle was one of the most intense experiences of my life. We had small arms fire, RPGs and armour-piercing rounds going off. It was like something out of the movies. "It's difficult to describe how intense that whole action was but the guys who were there will never forget it and Teddy Ruecker's outstanding bravery was witnessed by the whole company. "This soldier was completely selfless in his actions which were made all the more poignant that he was going to the aid of one of his best mates." Major Aston said he would write a citation for the soldier following his actions on May 17. "I have not decided yet whether it will be for one of the highest awards if not the highest," he said. The last award of a VC was posthumously made to Cpl Bryan Budd, of 3Bn the Parachute Regiment, who made a solo assault on a Taliban position last year also in Sangin.