An RAF Lossiemouth airman who retained command of his unit under fire despite having been hit in the knee kept a very special appointment at Holyrood Palace on Monday.
RAF Regiment Sergeant Roy Geddes was awarded the Military Cross after showing outstanding leadership and bravery in defending Camp Bastion in Afghanistan from an insurgency attack last September.
He was serving with RAF Force Protection Wing in Afghanistan when his quick reaction unit were called to defend the base against a surprise attack on US aircraft parked at the perimeter. After his vehicle was hit by a missile, Sgt Geddes suffered a wounded knee – however, he remained in control of his unit and stopped them becoming overrun, so ensuring that his injured crew could be taken to safety.
Sgt Geddes was presented with his medal by the Queen at a special ceremony ahead of the Royal Garden Party at Holyrood, but with typical modesty he insisted that he had been “stunned” to learn of his award back in March.
He said: “I was told in the middle of a training area while supervising an exercise – I was quite surprised and stunned when I found out.”
There will be little time to ponder on his award however, as Sgt Geddes will be returning to Camp Bastion in October for a further tour of duty.