Victoria Cross call for SAS battle hero

Sgt Talaiasi Labalaba was killed in the 1972 battle of Mirbat in Oman, in which nine British SAS soldiers defied overwhelming odds to hold off 400 communist rebels.

For over an hour the Fijiian single-handedly manned a 25-pounder field gun, which normally required a crew of four, and he continued to fire it even after being wounded.

Sgt Labalaba, known to his friends as Laba, received only a Mention in Despatches – the lowest honour – for his bravery.

Now ex-SAS soldier Roger Cole, who himself fought in the Battle of Mirbat, has written a book which aims to redress the injustice of the “shabby” treatment meted out to the heroes of the day.

He said: “For 39 years I’ve been thinking about this – it’s been a thorn in my side. I actually witnessed what that guy did.

“At the time everyone knew it was a secret war and they couldn’t give him a VC. Everybody appreciated that.

“But three years after the event they started giving some awards and honours. At the time you could only get a Mention in Despatches or a VC posthumously – and he got a Mention in Despatches.”

The battle of Mirbat on July 19 1972 saw the nine SAS men fire 15,000 rounds of ammunition as they valiantly defended a fort outside the town against hundreds of well armed advancing rebels.

Two British soldiers were killed – Sgt Labalaba, 30, and Irish medic Trooper Tommy Tobin, 25.

Mr Cole said it was the “Rorke’s Drift of our time”, a reference to the famous 1879 battle where a British garrison of 140 men in South Africa fought off up to 3,000 Zulu warriors, after which 11 VCs were awarded.

He hopes that his book SAS Operation Storm, the first full-length account of the battle of Mirbat, will boost the campaign to have Sgt Labalaba awarded a posthumous VC.