The Prince of Wales presented service medals yesterday to members of the elite Apache attack helicopter crews who have recently returned from Afghanistan.

Forty-four members of 9 Regiment Army Air Corps met the Prince, their colonel-in-chief, at a reception in the gardens of Clarence House.

The 43 men and one woman from 9 Regiment, who are based at Dishforth in North Yorkshire, served in Afghanistan for 13 months. They all received Operation Herrick service medals, named after the campaign codename.

Afterwards, Sergeant Nick Cole, who flew Apaches in Helmand province, where 5,000 British troops are based, said that Prince Charles discussed the dangerous conditions they had faced. “The Prince said a lot of lead was flying out there, and I said, ‘yes, quite a bit’.”

Sergeant Cole, 34, of Chichester, spoke of life as an Apache pilot, going to the aid of troops when they were under attack by the Taleban. “There’s nothing more satisfying than a young soldier coming up afterwards and saying, ‘thanks, you saved my life’,” he said.

The Prince was following in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who often invited servicemen and women to medal presentations at Clarence House.

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