Ayr army medic is honoured with award

Jan 2 2009 by Stuart Wilson

Major Douglas Reid

AN AYR army medic threw himself in the line of enemy fire to treat his wounded colleagues.

Major Douglas Reid has been hailed a hero for going far beyond the call of duty in war-torn Afghanistan.

And he’s even won the praise of Prince Charles for protecting his own son during William’s military training at Sandhurst.

Major Reid, 32, has received the Military Cross – one of the highest possible accolades – for his service in 2007.

And Prince Charles was quick to hand out the compliments as well as the medal when the two men met at Buckingham Palace.

Major Reid’s proud dad Ian revealed: “The two of them had plenty to discuss and spoke for some time.

“When Douglas was in Afghanistan, one of his vehicles was blown up and destroyed during an attack.

“One of the guys he was with was killed – and that guy had been Prince William’s tutor at Sandhurst.

“Douglas also looked after William during a number of training exercises, so he was able to tell Prince Charles all about that while getting his medal.”

Douglas, a former Belmont Academy pupil who now lives in the West Midlands, is one of the few army doctors to be awarded a Military Cross.

His citation for the award described one battle situation in which Major Reid put his life on the line to save others.

It read: “The situation was perilous with the Australian SAS running low on ammunition and the enemy pressing home an attack.

“Reid was forced to administer treatment in full view of this emboldened enemy.

“With almost no regard for his own safety, he frequently exposed himself to enemy fire in order to access medical equipment.

“As the intensity of the enemy attack increased, Reid continued to work on the casualty, assisting in physically pulling him back from enemy killing zones when necessary, despite great personal risk.

“The Australian SAS commander described Reid’s role as the ‘significant turning point in the battle’.”