JOHNSON BEHARRY

Two acts of valour from this young private saved the lives of his comrades in the narrow streets of Al Amarah, Iraq

- JACKSON VAN UDEN

Johnson Beharry did not have an easy life growing up. Born in 1979 in Grenada, then recently independent from British rule, the Beharry family lived in poverty. During the early days of the post-independence, Marxist-Leninist regime, the young Beharry had to walk three miles (5km) to school barefoot. This difficult start to life set Beharry on his journey to joining the British Army as he saved up enough money to move to the UK when he was 20. Yet he would not join the army immediately after arriving in West London; instead, he continued to work as a labourer on building sites, as he had done in Grenada since he was just 13.

While living in the UK, Beharry almost became caught up with West London gangs, but in August 2001 enlisted and joined the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment. Just a month later, the attack on the World Trade Center in New York would set world events in motion that would soon lead Beharry to war.

During training, Beharry qualified as a Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle driver. While serving in the coalition counter-insurgency in Iraq, his training would eventually enable him to not only save his own life but also the lives of those serving around him on two separate occasions, leading to him being awarded the Victoria Cross for “two individual acts of great heroism”. According to Beharry, one of the acts he can recall, and the other he cannot.