Bravery award for Burntisland postman

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By Donna Simpson

* Postie hit by shrapnel from grenade while serving with TA in Afghanistan

A BURNTISLAND postman has been hailed a hero after being injured while serving in Afghanistan.
Iain Macdonald was with his Territorial Army unit in Helmand Province when he was hit by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade, and has returned home to find he has won a bravery award from his employer.

The 38-year-old platoon sergeant was nominated by his boss at Cowdenbeath delivery office after he re-joined his comrades and continued his service only 10 days after being hit - complete with shrapnel still embedded in his chest.

Iain, who lives in Burntisland with his wife Sharon and sons Sam and Calum, has been in the TA for 12 years.

He told The Press: "On the day I was guard commander at the base. I was cutting across open ground in the base and had just stopped to speak to some of the other guys.

"I looked up and saw the grenade coming towards me - it landed about 20 metres away and the next thing I know I'm lying on my back."

The shrapnel hit Iain in the chest, and he was immediately patched up and flown to the hospital at Camp Bastion, where doctors and army chiefs considered surgery.

The piece of shrapnel, about 1cm-squared, had hit Iain at such an angle that taking it out when it was so near his vital organs could have made things far worse.

"There was nothing that the doctors could do for me," Iain added. "They had a look and decided if they operated it could cause complications - so they had to leave the shrapnel in there."

After only 10 days spent getting better, Iain had no hesitation about returning to join his comrades in the 15th Company 4 Paratroopers.

"The doctors gave me pain-killers and by day six I was asking them when I could go back - it was so good to see everyone again and I think it was good for them to see me alright too," he added.

Now, almost six months after he returned to Fife, Iain is going to London for the prestigious Royal Mail 1st Class People Awards ceremony on March 30, where, after winning an award for his outstanding bravery in Scotland, he will find out if he has won the national award.

Platoon Commander, Lieutenant Frazer Smith, added that daily ambushes and intense firefights with Taliban insurgents are part of the daily rhythm of life for Iain and his fellow paratroopers.

He said: "Iain is approachable, pragmatic, reliable and determined. Sgt Mac gets on with the job.

"I think he displayed that whilst fighting in Afghanistan. Just over a week after being injured, he was back with his comrades."