Free Republic

This is the emotional moment a British soldier who survived the worst ever battlefield injuries while serving in Afghanistan collected his MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace. Lance Bombardier Ben Parkinson lost both legs and suffered more than 40 injuries, including brain damage which affected his memory and speech, in a bomb attack in 2006. The paratrooper has since defied medical opinion by teaching himself to walk again for short distances using crutches. And his determination was exemplified today as was he able to proudly stand to receive his honour.

'Brave? It's just my job'(Filed: 05/04/2005) Ginnie Mottram, a TA captain who has been made an MBE, tells Judith Woods about a soldier's life in Iraq Ginnie Mottram ushers me into her south London flat and bustles about the kitchen, making coffee. In one corner of the living room stands an ironing board, complete with Cath Kidston-style floral cover. On the windowsill is a framed photograph of Mottram with a friend, evidently heading off to a ball. But as she re-enters the room, my eye falls on the Army uniform hanging from the banister, and the mugs she is carrying...