Bryan Budd
Corporal, Parachute Regiment
- Award
- Victoria Cross (posthumous)
- Rank
- Corporal all Corporals →
- Unit
- Parachute Regiment all Parachute Regiment VCs →
- Date of action
- 27 July 2006, 20 August 2006, Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on this day → all of 2006 →
- Conflict / campaign
- War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) (War in Afghanistan)
- London Gazette
- 15 December 2006 on this day → all of 2006 →
- Born
- 16 July 1977 at Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Died
- 20 August 2006 at Near Sangin, Helmand Province, Afghanistan (killed in action, aged 29)
- Award
- Posthumous all posthumous VCs →
- Memorial / grave
- Colchester Cemetery, Mersea Road, Colchester, Essex (also commemorated on the Armed Forces Memorial, National Memorial Arboretum)
- Medal held by
- Airborne Assault - Museum of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces, IWM Duxford, Cambridgeshire
- Investiture
- Presented posthumously to his widow
Summary of the action
During Operation Herrick in July 2006, Budd led his section against a building from which the Taliban were pouring fire, forcing the enemy into the open and allowing a badly wounded paratrooper to be evacuated. A month later, on 20 August, while his section was moving to outflank an enemy position in a maize field near Sangin, they came under heavy fire and several men were hit. Budd charged forward alone, firing as he went, which drew the enemy's attention and let his men pull back. He was mortally wounded and was later found beside three dead Taliban fighters.
A summary in our own words; the official citation can be read in The London Gazette (link below).
Awarded after Alf's death. This entry was compiled by his family in 2026 from public sources so that the register remains complete. Sources: en.wikipedia.org, victoriacross.org.uk, iwm.org.uk
Visit the grave or memorial
Alf recorded the memorial as: Colchester Cemetery, Mersea Road, Colchester, Essex (also commemorated on the Armed Forces Memorial, National Memorial Arboretum)
Map links open a search for the place name Alf recorded; please check opening times and exact locations before travelling. Many VC graves have since been restored by the Victoria Cross Trust.
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