Dominic Troulan

Dominic Charles Rupert Troulan, GC, QGM (born 12 December 1962) is a retired British Army officer and former Royal Marine who was awarded the George Cross on 16 June 2017 for his actions during the 2013 Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya. He was the first civilian recipient of the award in 25 years.

Dominic Troulan
Nickname(s)"Dom"
Born (1962-12-12) 12 December 1962
Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Marines (1979–98)
British Army (1998–09)
Years of service1979–2009
RankMajor
Unit42 Commando
The Parachute Regiment
Battles/warsFalklands War
The Troubles
Iraq War
AwardsGeorge Cross
Queen's Gallantry Medal
Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service
Other workSecurity consultant (2009–present)

Early life

Troulan was born in Banbury, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1962.[1]

Military career

Troulan served in the British Armed Forces for 30 years, first in the Royal Marines and subsequently in the British Army. He joined the Royal Marines in June 1979, and fought in the Falklands War with 42 Commando.[1] He later served in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and was decorated on two separate tours. As a sergeant in the Royal Marines, Troulan was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for his "gallant and distinguished services in Northern Ireland" in 1993.[2]

This was followed by a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service for a 2002 tour, by which time Troulan was a warrant officer class 1 in the British Army's Parachute Regiment.[3] He received a short-service commission in the rank of captain on 15 April 2002.[4] He was granted an intermediate regular commission in the same rank on 1 January 2005,[5] and was promoted to major on 31 July 2008.[6] On ending active service, he entered the reserve of officers on 31 August 2009.[7]

George Cross

The award to Dominic Troulan was the first George Cross gazetted in 25 years to a civilian, the previous award being the posthumous award to Stewart Guthrie, a New Zealand police sergeant, in 1992. The most recent award to a British civilian was to John Clements in 1976. The citation for Troulan's award was published in the London Gazette. It concludes, "Troulan had the presence of mind to realise that the terrorists could be hiding among the survivors. Troulan enlisted help and searched the civilians once he had led them to safety, thus ensuring that no terrorists were hiding in their midst.[8] He represented recipients at the 2023 Coronation.[9]

References
  1. "Dom Troulan GC, QGM". The Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  2. "No. 54393". The London Gazette. 9 May 1996. p. 6548.
  3. "No. 56920". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 April 2003. p. 5272.
  4. "No. 56673". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 August 2002. p. 10296.
  5. "No. 57577". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 March 2005. p. 2817.
  6. "No. 58786". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 August 2008. p. 11866.
  7. "No. 59249". The London Gazette (Supplement). 24 November 2009. p. 20322.
  8. "No. 61969". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. 11774.
  9. "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
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