Talaiasi Labalaba

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Talaiasi Labalaba

BEM
Flickr - davehighbury - Royal Artillery Museum Woolwich London 175.jpg
Memorial to Sergeant Labalaba at the Royal Artillery Museum, London
Nickname(s)"Laba"
Born(1942-07-13)13 July 1942
Fiji
Died19 July 1972(1972-07-19) (aged 30)
Mirbat, Oman
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1960–1972
RankSergeant
Service number23892771
UnitRoyal Ulster Rifles
Royal Irish Rangers
Special Air Service
Battles/warsAden Emergency
Dhofar Rebellion
AwardsBritish Empire Medal
Mentioned in Despatches

Talaiasi Labalaba BEM (13 July 1942 – 19 July 1972) was a British-Fijian sergeant in the SAS who was involved in the Battle of Mirbat on 19 July 1972.[1] Labalaba initially served in the British Army in the Royal Ulster Rifles.[1][2]

Battle of Mirbat[]

The BATT House at Mirbat from the air
Mirbat Fort as it is today, the scene of the siege

On 19 July 1972 the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG) attacked the British Army Training Team (BATT) house, which housed the nine SAS soldiers, based just outside the port of Mirbat, Oman.

Labalaba, aged 30, was shot dead in the neck whilst firing a 25-pounder gun at the attacking guerrilla forces.

He displayed notable bravery by continuing to fire the 25 pounder single handed in spite of being seriously wounded when a bullet hit him on the face, after his Omani loader was seriously wounded early in the battle. Captain Mike Kealy and fellow troopers Tommy Tobin and Sekonaia Takavesi ran a gauntlet of enemy fire but arrived too late to save Labalaba. Both the troopers were also hit, Takavesi was wounded in the shoulder, head, and stomach while Tobin was killed when a round crept through the sand-bagged walls and hit him in the face. Labalaba's actions helped to keep the insurgents pinned down until Strikemaster jets of the SOAF arrived to drive back the attackers while reinforcements from Salalah could be organised.

Fellow SAS trooper Roger Cole in his book of the battle, SAS: Operation Storm, paid tribute to Labalaba saying if the guerrilla force had taken the 25-pounder then the SAS would have surely lost the battle.

Honours[]

Statue at Nadi International Airport

Labalaba was awarded a posthumous Mention in Despatches for his actions in the Battle of Mirbat, although some of his former comrades have campaigned for him to be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. His body was returned to England and buried in the cemetery at St Martin's Church, Hereford.[1]

In 2012 he was chosen as one of BBC Radio 4's 60 New Elizabethans in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.[3]

A statue of Labalaba was erected in 2009 at the SAS headquarters in Herefordshire, and another, at Nadi International Airport in Fiji, dedicated in 2018 during a visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.[4][5][6][7]

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ a b c "Personal Details: Labalaba, Talaiasi". Armed Forces Memorial roll of honour. GOV.UK. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. ^ He is listed under that regiment and not under SAS in his entry on the Armed Forces Memorial Roll of Honour. His government-issued headstone bears the RIR regimental crest, with the SAS 'winged dagger' a subsidiary depiction.
  3. ^ "The New Elizabethans: Talaiasi Labalaba". BBC. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Forgotten war hero honoured by royals". BBC News. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  5. ^ "Prince Harry unveils a statue in Fiji". ABC News. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  6. ^ "Prince Harry and Meghan arrive in Tonga after unveiling statue of SAS hero". ABC News. 2018-10-25. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
  7. ^ "Harry and Meghan Fiji visit: Prince Harry unveils statue of SAS Labalaba". The Fiji Times. Retrieved 2018-10-26.

References[]

  • Kennedy, Michael Paul (1990). Soldier I: SAS. London: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 320. ISBN 0747507503.
  • BBC News Article
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