PREVIEW: ORDERS, DECORATIONS, MEDALS & MILITARIA 26 JULY

Many recipients of battlefield honours distinguish themselves through a single act of gallantry; Brad ‘Bugsy’ Malone won his Conspicuous Gallantry Cross with three.

Now he plans to apply that dedication to his fellow servicemen in civilian life by launching a special project funded through the sale of his C.G.C. at Noonans on 26 July.

Born in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, Malone now lives near Loch Lomond, where he will realise that vision. He joined the Marines at the age of 16 and has been on tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.

It was as part of Zulu Company, in Helmand Province in 2008, that Malone distinguished himself. He was operating out of the British-manned Forward Operating Base ‘Gibraltar’ next to the Helmand River, near the town of Sangin, which was used to monitor and intercept enemy forces between Gereshk and Sangin. The base was described by the Taliban as the ‘mouth of hell’, or the ‘devil’s place’.

All three acts of heroism took place during patrols. The first involved Malone leading a bayonet charge to repel an ambush; the second saw him rescuing his pinned down troop sergeant from the ‘Killing Ground’; and the final act came during an IED-initiated ambush. 

On that occasion – December 31, 2008 – 10 Troop was moving north of FOB Gibraltar along a narrow but deep waterway. The Taliban were in the area and the Troop’s task was to find them, draw them out, and then suppress them.

Shortly after midday, the patrol was caught in an immense explosion. The leading section commander was killed instantly, while in front of him, the point marine was blown across a ditch into an open field, very seriously wounded. The third man was Malone who, still clutching his general-purpose machine gun, was hurled backwards off his feet.

Shaken and bruised but otherwise unhurt, he collected his wits, shouted for two men to come forward to help and then grabbed a radio set to call for support. He then organised the evacuation of casualties and called down artillery and air support whilst effecting the timely withdrawal of his section, all under the heaviest of fire from the enemy. 

At the time, another Marine, James Malone, was also serving in 45 Commando and was mistakenly called in to the Commanding Officer’s office to be congratulated with champagne. It shortly became clear, much to the bemusement of all concerned, that the wrong Malone was being decorated. By the time everything had been rectified there was no champagne left for ‘Bugsy’ to celebrate with. 

At his C.G.C. investiture in at Buckingham Palace almost a year later, Malone proposed to his girlfriend, who accepted. 

In 2010, he told Esquire magazine: “You have to respect the Taliban to a degree because they can be ingenious and adaptable, but we’re 10 times better soldiers and fighters than they are. If they fight us, we will win. We proved it time and time again in our area of operations.”

While physical wounds can heal relatively quickly, psychological trauma can last for years. Now aged 37 and having left the Royal Marines after 16 years in 2018, Malone has decided to help once more, prompted to act by the suicide of a friend.

His plan is to raise money to buy land to build a homestead / retreat in the Scottish Highlands for like-minded soldiers to use and experience a new way of life. He sees it as a process of healing.

‘Bugsy’ Malone says it has taken two years to come to the decision to sell the C.G.C.: “I want to create a place where veterans can come together in community to heal and connect with nature and themselves... I think community is vital to healing.”

To finance his plans, he is selling his ‘Operation Herrick IX - Afghanistan’ Conspicuous Gallantry on 26 July with an estimate of £100,000-140,000.  

As Mark Quayle, Medal Specialist (Associate Director) Noonans commented: “The Conspicuous Gallantry Cross was instituted in 1993 following the review of the British Honours System and is awarded ‘in recognition of an act or acts of conspicuous gallantry during active operations against the enemy and his gallantry award ranks second only to the Victoria Cross for gallantry in the face of the enemy. To date 60 have been awarded.”