Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, 2005

Awarded to Warrant Officer I Terence 'Tommo' Thomson, 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment for his actions in Iraq in 2004.

Silver cross pattee over a laurel wreath with a St Edward's Crown on the obverse. On the reverse the number, rank, name and unit abbreviation, '25046691 Cpl T A Thomson PWRR', with the year '2005' on the lower arm of the cross. The medal is suspended from a white ribbon with a central, vertical, crimson stripe and narrow, edged with two narrow, dark blue stripes.

On 9 August 2004, Thomson was commanding a Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle as part of a Quick Reaction Force extraction in central Basra City. His unit's mission was to extract a small group of soldiers, who were surrounded by armed local militia. Thomson and his crew found themselves isolated and under constant heavy rocket propelled grenade (RPG) and machine gun fire as they tried to locate their target.

Thomson's Warrior was hit by an RPG fired at close range and its communications system was knocked out. Continuing to engage the militia, Thomson was only able to communicate with his colleagues in other vehicles by the use of hand-signals which meant exposing himself to hostile fire.

Believing the stranded soldiers to be within a compound housing the former Iraqi Ba'ath Party local headquarters, Thomson's Warrior entered the complex under heavy fire. Unable to locate their comrades, Thomson and his crew fought their way out of the compound. While his gunner dealt with a jammed turret, Thomson engaged opposition positions with his personal weapon and grenades. It was for this action that Thomson was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross. The stranded soldiers were successfully extracted by another Warrior.