Seth Vincent Scott Stephens CGC

b. 12/08/1967 Dhekelia, Cyprus. d. 01/07/2010 Haji Wakil, Afghanistan.

DATE OF CGC ACTION: 01/07/2010 Haji Wakil, Afghanistan.

Seth S V Stephens CGC

Seth was born in Dhekelia, Cyprus, into a military family. Little else is known about his early life, but his family returned to settle in Dorset. In 1990, Seth married Karen Frazer in Exeter, Devon, and they went on to have two daughters. He enlisted with Royal Marines and held the rank of Corporal. He was attached to the Special Boat Service (SBS) and was deployed the NATO forces to Afghanistan in 2010.

Stephens was posthumously awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his bravery after rescuing comrades from the Special Boat Service who were pinned down by heavy fire. In his citation for the award, that is second only to the Victoria Cross, the coroner’s court heard that the former Royal Marine had “almost certainly saved the lives of his comrades” after exposing himself to enemy fire during a substantial gun battle.

An inquest heard that Cpl Stephens was part of a large British and Afghan special forces raid on a Taliban headquarters in Helmand province. In the during the early hours of 1 July 2010 Chinooks carrying the teams landed near Haji Wakil village in the Bahram Chah area at 2am and quickly came under determined enemy resistance.

After more than five hours of heavy fighting the SBS force found “progress extremely difficult” as they fought their way through an orchard coming under fire from all sides.

On his own initiative Cpl Stephens used a ladder to climb a 9ft compound wall and began to fire down onto enemy positions that were attacking the men stranded in the orchard. “In adopting this position, he would have been acutely aware of his own vulnerability,” an inquest learnt.

An SBS Marine who followed him into the compound was shot and wounded by an insurgent firing over a 7ft wall close to Cpl Stephens. The fellow Marine tried to warn him of the threat as the gunman had a clear line of sight onto Cpl Stephens. Between 15 and 30 seconds later Cpl Stephens was shot in the back of the head in the exposed area between his helmet and body armour.
It is not known how many enemy were killed although Lt Col Freddie Kemp, from the MoD’s inquest unit, later said it was a “significant firefight but we came out on top”. Sheriff Payne, the coroner, said: “Cpl Stephens made a conscious decision to move to provide more effective covering fire. “He was in a very exposed position under accurate fire at increased risk to himself. “That single act of selfless bravery almost certainly saved the lives of his comrades.” In March 2011, Cpl Stephens was posthumously awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his acts of bravery in the presence of the enemy. Cpl Stephens, aged 42, was from Dorset. In a statement, his widow Karen said the couple’s two daughters Heather and Molly were devastated by the death of their father, which had occurred just before their 20th wedding anniversary. She said, “Seth was courageous, selfless and ever professional. I am extremely proud of Seth and feel most privileged to have called him my husband.”
BURIAL LOCATION: ST MARY’S CHURCHYARD, LYTCHETT MATRAVERS, DORSET.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: FAMILY.