Warrant Officer Class 2 Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mo ...

Gary John O'Donnell, (21 July 1968 – 10 September 2008) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

bomb disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous Explosive device, explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functi ...

expert who was awarded the

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in cir ...

twice. The George Medal is the second highest decoration, after the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

, for "acts of great bravery" not "in the face of the enemy". His second George Medal was the first such award in 26 years and the first ever posthumous bar. O'Donnell was killed in an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...

(IED) attack in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Early life

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, O'Donnell was educated at St Thomas of Aquin's High School.

Military career

O'Donnell enlisted in the British Army in 1992, trained as an

Ammunition Technician An ammunition technician (AT) is a British Army soldier, formerly of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps but since 1993 of the Royal Logistic Corps, trained to inspect, repair, test, store, and modify all ammunition, guided missiles, and explosives used ...

and was posted to 3 Base Ammunition Depot in Germany. After three tours of ammunition depots, he moved to 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment

Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

as a Joint Service

Improvised Explosive Device Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the milita ...

No. 1 Operator. As a

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, supervi ...

in 2004 he passed the RLC No 1 IEDD Course as a high-threat operator at the first attempt, one of a small percentage of candidates to do so. He subsequently undertook tours in

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

as well as two tours of both

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and Afghanistan.

Iraq War

By 2006 O'Donnell was employed as an IEDD operator in southern Iraq. He was awarded his first

for "persistent courage" for his work in

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

. On 23 May 2006, rockets on a timing device were being fired at Basra Air station. When a rocket was discovered with the timer set, O'Donnell decided to minimise the risk to the airbase by manually disabling it as quickly as possible, which meant placing himself in the line of fire of the rocket.

War in Afghanistan

O'Donnell served one tour in Afghanistan in 2007 and returned in 2008. He worked defusing

roadside bomb An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mechan ...

s in

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

, defusing 50 of the devices. On 26 August 2008 he was awarded the

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a service medal awarded to personnel in various branches of the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the territories that are or were at some point a part of the British Empire or Commonwealth of Nations. ...

. In September 2008 O'Donnell was attempting to disarm an IED near

Musa Qala ; "Fortress of Moses") is a town and the district centre of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at and at an altitude of 1,043 m in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its pop ...

, Helmand Province, when he was killed as he approached a booby-trapped bomb. His body was returned to the UK and his funeral service was held on 29 September 2008. The service was accompanied by full

military honours A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

, and was followed by a cremation at Oakley Wood Crematorium,

Bishop's Tachbrook Bishop's Tachbrook is a village and civil parish in the Warwick District of Warwickshire, England. The village is about south of Warwick and Leamington Spa. A church at Bishop's Tachbrook is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''. The village conta ...

Legacy

The UK Defence Secretary Des Browne summarised O'Donnell's career by noting that " 'Donnellwas personally responsible for saving thousands of the family, friends and comrades of others from the anguish that is currently being felt by his own." On 6 March 2009, O'Donnell was posthumously awarded a

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

to his George Medal for "repeated and sustained acts of immense bravery" in Afghanistan. His Bar was the first to the George Medal awarded in 26 years. The award was for two incidents: *May 2008 – where he had to deal with a booby-trapped bomb in the Upper Gereshk Valley. After he defused this device he continued to search for others eventually finding and defusing 7 more devices. The task took 9 hours and was carried out in 40 °C heat. *July 2008 – he was called to deal with a roadside bomb that was blocking the path of a convoy. He worked for 24 hours and found 11 devices. The

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...

attempted to detonate one as he approached, but it failed to go off. O'Donnell's medals are in order of precedence;- *

and

* General Service Medal With "Northern Ireland" clasp *

Operational Service Medal for Sierra Leone The Operational Service Medal for Sierra Leone is a campaign medal established in 2000 by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom for participation in the British military intervention during and after the Sierra Leone Civil War, from May ...

* Iraq Medal *

Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan The Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan is a campaign medal previously awarded by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom for service by British Armed Forces personnel in support of the post-2001 Afghan War. Operational Service Medal ...

With "Afghanistan" clasp * NATO Non-Article 5 medal with ISAF clasp * Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (UK) *

Accumulated Campaign Service Medal The Accumulated Campaign Service Medal and the Accumulated Campaign Service Medal 2011 are medals awarded by King Charles III to members of his Armed Forces to recognise long campaign service. The original Accumulated Campaign Service Medal, inst ...

(

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

)

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (UK) ribbon

In September 2013 O'Donnell's set of ten of his medals together with three letters on

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

headed paper from

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

, the colonel-in-chief of the

, was sold at auction for £110,000.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, Gary (British Army Soldier) 1968 births 2008 deaths Military personnel from Edinburgh Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers Deaths by improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Recipients of the George Medal Royal Logistic Corps soldiers Bomb disposal personnel British Army personnel of the Iraq War British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Burials in Warwickshire