Johnson Beharry VC Visits The Lower School
The Third and Upper Third Form boys were lucky to hear Warrant Office Second Class Johnson Beharry VC speak in their Assembly on Monday. Mr Beharry, awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in 2005, grew up on the Caribbean Island of Grenada, walking three miles barefoot to school every day, and finishing his school education at the age of 13. He came to London aged 19 and, as he told us, became involved in street gangs.
In 2001, looking to turn his life around, he joined the British army, enrolling in the Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment and training as a Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle driver. He served six months in Kosovo, three months in Northern Ireland, and then went to Iraq.
The story of the two actions in Iraq that led to the awarding of his Victoria Cross was riveting. Involved in two ambushes, Mr Beharry suffered multiple injuries in March 2004, when he risked his life to save his division while under heavy enemy fire. Two months later, he again executed an amazing escape for himself and his comrades in an attack, which left him in a coma for five weeks. When his family came out to Kuwait to turn off his life support machine he woke up. In all, he rescued over 40 soldiers, and in 2005 the Queen awarded him his VC, the first living soldier to receive the medal for over forty years.
Mr Beharry’s message to the boys was a powerful one. He showed us his medals, and whilst he is proud of his VC, the medal he is most proud of, he says, is the one he received for long service and good conduct. The boys asked some brilliant questions and gave him a rousing cheer as he completed his address. They will long remember Mr Beharry’s talk.
Dr Rollo Hesketh
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