We are privileged to have been offered and purchased a Devon and Dorset Regiment MC winners ERII Mess Dress to a Tavistock Man.

This will be displayed in our antique shop here in Tavistock, Devon for people to enjoy and appreciate. 

BBC News Extract:

A soldier who treated injured comrades and fought hand-to-hand with insurgents after his unit was ambushed in Iraq.

L/Cpl Nicholas Coleman - awarded a Military Cross for his bravery - in his home city of Plymouth.

The 21-year-old was on patrol with the Devon and Dorsets [now known as The Rifles] when his platoon was ambushed in July 2006. He gave first aid to two of his unit who were shot, took them to safety and then led an attack on the insurgents.

After leading the unit back to safety, L/Cpl Coleman was then involved in hand to hand combat to save two injured corporals as a mob of Iraqis attempted to pull them from a military vehicle. The patrol commander, Cpl John Crosby, died later from his wounds. Cpl Andy Keeley made a full recovery. Part of the soldier's citation reads: "By leading an ad-hoc team on a daring counter-attack and by fighting quite literally hand to hand, to achieve extraction, speaks volumes for this young man's courage, tenacity and sense of duty." It adds: "His instinctive leadership, often with men considerably senior to him, is still the more remarkable when one considers he had been a lance corporal for only eight months and was only 20 years of age."

L/Cpl Coleman, who will be 22 in September and is from the Woolwell area of Plymouth, told BBC News his actions had been "instinctive".

"It's hard to describe. We heard shooting and there were some grenades went off quite close to us," he said

"When John and Andy were shot I just really acted on instinct."

"It was the first time I'd had to treat bullet wounds. I knew it was dangerous because the sand was flying around me as the bullets landed, but I just kept going."

His mother, Sorayah, said her son has always insisted he was simply doing "what he signed up for".

"We were absolutely astonished when he told us about the medal and just so proud," she said.

"Nick says he's paid to do a job and the medal is not just for him, but for everyone in the platoon."

Casualty deployment

L/Cpl Coleman was flown back from Germany to receive his Military Cross from Prince Charles in May - an experience he described as nerve-wracking.

"There were a lot of military people and most of them were high ranking officers," he said.

"They were in these immaculate uniforms covered in gold medals then there was me - the lowest ranking and the youngest there."