Orders, Decorations and Medals

Four: Staff Sergeant T. Caudwell, The Parachute Regiment

General Service 1962, 3 clasps, Radfan, South Arabia, Northern Ireland (24059380 Pte., Para); U.N. Cyprus; South Atlantic 1982, with rosette (24059380 S Sgt, Para); Regular Army L.S. & G.C., E.II.R., 2nd issue (24059380 Sgt, Para) mounted as worn, extremely fine (4) £1600-1800

Trevor Caudwell served with either 1 or 3 Para in the Radfan campaign and for a tour of Cyprus before transferring to 2 Para, probably on promotion and almost certainly the only recipient with this medal entitlement in his new battalion. He was in command of the Defence Platoon, HQ Coy, in the Falklands and was wounded in the foot in the action on 13 June 1982. He was the most senior N.C.O. to be wounded and was operated on in the field by the RMO, Captain Hughes. Earlier in the conflict he and his men were responsible for damaging an Argentinian Skyhawk: ‘The Defence Platoon, too, had its moment when a Skyhawk jettisoned its bombs on the far side of the bay and tried to escape by flying directly over Battalion HQ. Everyone leapt for cover, expecting canon fire or more bombs... Colour Sergeant Caudwell and his men, however, sitting on the rock outcrop above, blazed away and claimed another hit as fuel poured down on them from a smoking fuselage.’