Red Cross honour for Army nurse; Medics risked their lives

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), August 4, 2008

Byline: By VICKY ROBSON

A NORTH East Army medic who cared for wounded soldiers under frontline fire has been awarded a nursing Victoria Cross.

Major Janet Pilgrim, who was born in North Shields, has won a rare Royal Red Cross for her dedication in war-torn Iraq last summer.

Under a constant hail of bullets, Janet and her team risked their lives to care for wounded soldiers - many of who had been maimed or were dying.

Now Janet, 42, has received the country's highest military honour for her courage and compassion.

Janet, who insists the medal is for her team, remained a rock of calm under enemy fire and commanded Basra air base's field hospital from May to September in 2007.

Up to 100 rockets and shells landed near to the base each day, which was badly damaged three times under Janet's command.

On one occasion, the welfare department was wiped out, cutting the power to key clinical units after the hospital took a direct hit from a 122mm rocket.

Janet said: "It's a great honour - but there is no way the award is just for me. I see it as for everyone in my team. None of us had ever been so close to the frontline before. The hardest part was losing people."

Twenty soldiers died in the time Janet commanded the base - which is said to have been the busiest military hospital since the Falklands.

There were 411 admissions, with staff treating 92 troops who were wounded in action, 31 of them with life-threatening injuries.

The Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officer's citation reads of Janet: "Utterly committed as a leader, loved by those she commanded, exceptionally gifted as a nurse; she was the very embodiment of what many aspire to be."

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PROUD: Major Janet Pilgrim PICTURE: THE SUN