Bomb disposal hero Olaf Schmid is 'racing certainty' for top gallantry award

Blackleaf

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 9, 2004
48,340
1,650
113
The bravery of British soldiers can be absolutely breathtaking. Olaf Schmid is a perfect example.

Bomb disposal expert, Staff Sergeant Olaf "Oz" Schmid of the Royal Logistic Corps and who was serving with 2 Rifles Battle Group, defused 64 bombs in Afghanistan in just 5 months, each time knowing that the bomb could detonate, either killing or or serverely injuring him. He was killed trying to defuse the 65th.

On October 31 as he dealt with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), in the Sangin region of Helmand province, he died instantly when the device he was defusing detonated.

He was on his last mission before returning home to Winchester, Hampshire, to spend a well-deserved two-week break with his wife and her five-year-old son, Laird.

Now he is being recommended for a George Cross. The medal was instituted by King George VI in 1940 and is awarded in recognition of "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger".

The medal has been awarded 159 times in 69 years.

Last week, in one of the UK's newest and grimmest traditions, Olaf Schmid's coffin arrived at RAF Lyneham and made its way through the town of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire with thousands lining the streets to pay their respects, on its way to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxfordshire.

Afghanistan: bomb disposal hero Olaf Schmid is 'racing certainty' for top gallantry award


By Andrew Alderson, Chief Reporter
14 Nov 2009
The Telegraph

A bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan, Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid, is a "racing certainty" for a top gallantry award, senior sources have revealed.


Staff Sgt Schmid had previously disarmed 64 roadside bombs in five months and was on his last mission before returning home
Photo: PA


Christina Schmid
Photo: PA

It is widely expected that Staff Sgt Schmid, who was known as "Oz" to family and fiends, is to be honoured next year with either a George Cross or the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

The disclosure comes as Christina Schmid, his widow, revealed that her husband had been exhausted and uncharacteristically down in their last conversation two days before he died in Afghanistan.

He told his wife: "I need you to come and get me. I've only had a couple of hours sleep in four days. I'm so weary and homesick and I just want you. I need you. It's just too much now, too much now, too long for me."

Mrs Schmid, from Winchester, Hampshire, also revealed that the night before she was told she her husband had been killed she had a dream in which he was in serious trouble and was saying: "I need some help. Help me."

The contents of some of Staff Sgt Schmid’s letters home were also revealed. He wrote: “Hi gorgeous wife, well we’re now half way through this [his tour]. I’m so proud of what you have done and achieved since I’ve been away - it’s really positive [his wife and her son had moved home]. It’s already a massive stepping stone to our great future together.”

In another letter, he wrote: “Your picture protects me and I leave it there to watch over me... Staying alive is like a lottery, patrolling the Afghan badlands is playing Russian roulette with your feet. Dealing with bombs is easy; it’s the getting shot at whilst doing a job that tends to make me run...”

Staff Sgt Schmid, 30, of the Royal Logistic Corps and who was serving with 2 Rifles Battle Group, was killed on October 31 as he dealt with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), in the Sangin region of Helmand province. He died instantly when the device he was defusing, as the head of a bomb disposal team, detonated.

He had previously disarmed 64 roadside bombs in just five months and was on his last mission before returning home to spend a two-week break with his wife and her five-year-old son, Laird.

His widow told ten days ago how she was "beaming" with pride after his remains were brought back in a coffin through Wootton Bassett, Wilshire, "I am very pleased to have my husband home. He is an absolute hero," she said defiantly, as she wore his service medals. "It was awesome to see that plane coming in and to see him being taken off by his friends."

The couple had planned a new life together in Cornwall, where Staff Sgt Schmid was born. His father, Hans, who was Swedish, and his mother, Barbara, who is German, had moved to the county to run a hotel.

Barbara Schmid said: "If he was to receive an award, it would be a huge honour. It would be wonderful because he has always been so modest about his achievements."


The George Cross

Her son Torben Schmid added: "Whenever someone does something – like my brother – that is beyond the call of duty, you hope it gets recognised in the way it should. He considered that he was just doing his job, but I think he deserves the best recognition that it is possible for him to receive."

Some senior military personnel expect Staff Sgt Schmid to be recommended for the George Cross. Instituted in 1940 by George VI, it is awarded in recognition of "acts of the greatest heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger". The medal has been awarded 159 times in 69 years.

However, one of the country's leading experts on gallantry awards predicted Staff Sgt Schmid might, instead, receive a posthumous DSO, a decoration instituted by Queen Victoria in 1886. It is usually given to those who have displayed exceptional leadership qualities, as well as great courage. "His deeds scream a DSO, because of his leadership and his consistency," the source said.

Lieutenant Col Robert Thomson, the Commanding Officer of 2 Rifles Battle Group, paid an exceptional tribute to his comrade earlier this month after learning of his death. "Staff Sgt Oz Schmid was simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met," he said. "I adored working with him... Superlatives do not do the man justice. Better than the best. Better than the best of the best."

The original recommendation for a gallantry award comes from a soldier's commanding officer and it is then considered the Ministry of Defence.

telegraph.co.uk
 
Last edited: