HUNDREDS of troops, including 15 from Colchester, have been honoured with operational medals for their part in the Army's latest missions in Afghanistan and South Sudan.

On Thursday soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment were presented with the medals by the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief, His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, for their part in the operations.

Around 80 soldiers from the battalion, nicknamed The Vikings, were deployed to Malakal and Bentiu in South Sudan as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission Operation Trenton.

The regiment's primary tasks were to base security and force protection for the engineers as they completed a wide range of construction projects, including building a hospital and new roads.

Operational Toral was the British Army's contribution to NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan.

The non-combat operation centred on training, advising and assisting the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces to improve their capability.

A total of 280 troops received medals for their participation in the Middle East operation last year.

Major Nick McGinley, who leads the regiment's Essex-based C Company, said: "Providing force protection to NATO advisors within the centre of Kabul which included the Presidential Palace, Afghan ministries and embassies was a high-profile task.

"Strategic advising only happens if the company enables the movement and protection of those advisors.

"During the deployment, the men of C Company have delivered over 2000 missions; we feel justifiably proud of our role and the soldiers’ professionalism.”

The medal parade in Woolwich was organised to fall on the day the regiment gathered to mark the 260th anniversary of the Battle of Minden.

The 1759 battle saw six regiments including The Vikings’ predecessors, the 12th Foot, defeat the French cavalry

It is often referred to as the Battle of the Roses because the soldiers pulled roses from the hedgerows and placed them in their headdress as they advanced towards the enemy.

In honour of their forefathers, the modern-day Vikings wear red and yellow roses in their headdress every year on the 1st August.

Lieutenant Colonel Philip Moxey MBE, commanding officer, said: "The Battle of Minden isn’t just some historic curiosity, rather it is remembered and celebrated by the battalion as the epitome of courageous, stoic and steadfast sacrifice by regular soldiers drawn from the same counties as we are today."

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