b. 1979 ?
DATE OF CGC ACTION: Between 01/04/2006 and 30/09/2006 Garmsir, Afghanistan.
Timothy Illingworth CGC
Timothy Illingworth was born into a military family, being the son of Lieutenant Colonel Richard Illingworth of the Royal Armoured Corps. When Timothy was one, the family moved to Dorset, where his father was based at Bovington Camp. During Timothy’s childhood, his father’s military career took him across the UK and to Germany and Ethiopia. Timothy was sent to Gordonstoun Public School in Scotland where he studied between 1993 and 1998. In September 2001, around the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US, he decided to enlist in the British Army. He would serve in the Army for nearly 10 years, involving tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.
It was during a tour of Afghanistan in 2006 that he would be awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross.
Captain Illingworth had been deployed with the Edinburgh-based Light Infantry to teach Afghan soldiers and policemen modern military techniques. He arrived in the Garmsir District with around 40 Afghans and 14 British soldiers. He later said: “On the second day there I went to speak to the local chief of police to see what the situation was like. By the third day all hell had broken loose. Taliban forces had overrun northern positions in the district and blocked off escape routes. The police chief was very concerned and the police got in their vehicles and withdrew.”
Acting Captain Illingworth formed troops into a position to mount an attack on the Taliban forces who were secreted in nearby trees. He said: “I called in for air support but the French Mirages were not particularly effective. After their second pass I said to Daoud that we had to advance.”
Shortly afterwards, Acting Captain Illingworth saw his colleague shot through the heart. He said: “It could have been me. But I wasn’t really thinking about that at the time. It’s taken some getting to grips with, emotionally, since coming back. The Afghan troops seemed crushed by it at the time. They were scared – very young and very inexperienced.”
Acting Captain Illingworth pushed forward over 150 yards alone to take up the rocket-propelled grenade launcher dropped by Daoud. Shortly afterwards he realised he was stranded and was forced to retreat under heavy fire with no cover from the Afghans. The forces eventually claimed victory in a battle that lasted seven days.
After returning to Britain he attended a medal ceremony in London with his father. Following leaving the Army in 2011, he has held several business positions around the world, including in Liberia, Burkina Faso, Dubai, and Nigeria. Since November 2023, he has been the Chief Executive Officer with SafeLane Global, a company that specialises in land and marine explosive remnants of war (ERW) clearance.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: WITH RECIPIENT.
