b. 16/10/1978 Longwood, St Helena.
DATE OF CGC ACTION: 12/09/2008 Gereshkh Valley, Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Alwyn J Stevens CGC
Alwyn is the only son of a lorry driver from St Helena, in the South Atlantic. He has a younger sister, Deborah. He was educated on the island, and lived there until he chose to enlist in the British Army two days after his 21st birthday on 18 October 1999. Upon completion of his basic training, he joined the Royal Irish Regiment. He was only a few weeks out of training when he was deployed to Sierra Leone. He later completed six tours of Northern Ireland, as well as tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. He qualified as a sniper in 2006.
In 2008, Stevens took part in a challenging tour of Afghanistan as part of Operation HERRICK 8. On 12 September 2008, while serving as a corporal, he performed remarkable acts of gallantry in Helmand Province which led to the award of the CGC.
His official citation stated: “Corporal Stevens was an Afghan National Army (ANA) platoon mentor operating in support of an ANA deployed at Patrol Base ATTAL in Gereshkh Valley. On 12 Sep 08, he and his six-man Operational Mentor Liaison Team (OMLT), with a small group of ANA, were patrolling North East of the Patrol Base to dominate the surrounding vegetated Green Zone. A local national approached the patrol and warned them of a sizeable enemy force in the vicinity intent on ambushing the patrol.
Stevens pushed forward with six men to secure a compound from which he could observe the area. Approaching the mudwalled compound, he had a sudden meeting engagement with eight Taliban who engaged with heavy small arms fire. Instinctively, Stevens charged the enemy firing from the hip as he advanced. With his initial response, he successfully killed two enemies, wounded another and forced the remainder to withdraw and take cover in a field of corn, 7 feet high.
The enemy quickly established a firm footing and resumed fire. Stevens no longer had the advantage as he was under effective small arms and rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) fire. Stevens rallied his five men to him and organised them to try to win the firefight. Concurrently, a second OMLT patrol manoeuvred to the West to put in a flanking assault while the Fire Support Team cued up 105mm artillery and an airstrike. Stevens decided to hold his position throughout the offensive support engagement despite being only 120m from the target in order to fix them in position for destruction. He and his men applied controlled fire, preventing and enemy egress.
Following the successful fire mission and flanking assault, Stevens led an assault on a further enemy position which was suppressing from 100m away. Stevens led from the front and assaulted with grenades and his personal weapons supported only by his small team. His quick and aggressive attack accounted for most of the enemy, forcing the remainder to fall back under his onslaught.
The battle continued for over three more hours. A further ten Taliban positions unveiled themselves and engaged the two OMLT patrols. Depleted stocks of ammunition now forced the OMLTs to withdraw. Stevens moved his men, still under heavy fire, into a position where they could suppress the enemy and thus extract the other OMLT. Stevens remained in position as Close Air Support, and 105mm guns conducted ‘danger close’ fire missions. Stevens stayed firm, dominating the enemy until his paired patrol had gained relative safety. Only then did he fall back and join them.
Stevens displayed extraordinary courage, selflessness and leadership. He personally engaged and killed several Taliban Fighters and set conditions for the defeat of a strong enemy force. His actions ensured the enemy never again appeared in such strength in the ATTAL area during Op HERRICK 8. Stevens’ outstanding gallantry was witnessed by two British Captains and his peers; it deserves the highest recognition.
His CGC was announced in The London Gazette on 6 March 2009. It was presented to him by The Queen in an investiture at Buckingham Palace. Remarkably, two other soldiers from the Royal Irish Regiment were awarded the CGC for gallantry on the same tour.
Stevens became a Sniper Platoon Commander in 2014.In June 2019, he was seconded to The Black Watch, the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland. He was discharged from the Army in October 2021 after 22 years’ service. Two months later, in December 2021, his medals were auctioned at Duke’s Auctions in Dorchester. The hammer price was £120,000.
Stevens now lives in Inverness, Scotland with his wife and four children, but does occasionally return to St Helena, usually to see his mother Joyce, who still lives there. His father, Eric, died in 2020.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
