Sand and sea struggles of medal winner

Corporal Danny White, from Hatfield, Doncaster, was the only soldier among 110 on parade on Tuesday to receive a Nato medal for his Libyan service and described it as an “absolute honour”.

Cpl White, of 4 Regiment Army Air Corps, also received an Operational Services Medal for Afghanistan alongside his colleagues during the event at their barracks in Colchester, Essex.

He said he found himself involved in the Libyan conflict after being deployed to maintain the Army’s Apache helicopter from the Royal Navy’s HMS Ocean amphibious assault ship.

The helicopters were used in Nato operations between June and October 2011 to protect civilians from battles being waged between the Gaddafi regime and Libyan rebel groups.

Cpl White, 22, was deployed to Afghanistan for four months from June this year and said the hot dusty conditions of the desert presented a different challenge to working on the helicopter at sea.

The former Hatfield High School pupil said: “Afghanistan and Libya were very different. Working aboard HMS Ocean was a completely new experience and we were all learning on the job, working in very confined spaces and always on the go.

“Afghanistan was just as busy but it’s almost part of the programme and, while it was new to me, the unit and most of my colleagues had done it before.”

Soldiers involved in the Libya operation have been given special permission to wear the Nato Unified Protector medals, and Cpl White said receiving the decorating made him feel that his efforts were appreciated.