Iraq hero carries Olympic torch to national memorial
Corporal Johnson Beharry, awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of his unit in Iraq, marks Armed Forces Day by carrying the Olympic torch to the National Memorial arboretum.
With just 27 days to go until London 2012‘s opening ceremony, the Olympic torch has reached the west Midlands.
Day 43 of the torch relay saw it carried by boy band The Wanted in Newtown, Staffordshire. But in a more moving ceremony at Britain’s National Memorial Arboretum this morning, the Olympic flame was used to mark Armed Forces Day.
And on the day Britain celebrates its armed forces, one of its heroes took on the Olympic torch. Corporal Johnson Beharry was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of his unit during two ambushes in Iraq.
There was silence at the memorial, which bears the names of 16,000 fallen soldiers. A poignant moment for Corporal Beharry.
Led by the Irish Guards band, Corporal Beharry’s relay leg was complete, capping an eventful week for the Olympic torch.
It has been carried underground, by rail, by rope, by Robin Hood, by cable car, and by Torvil and Dean.
After travelling 4577 miles tonight, the flame arrives in Birmingham, where Sir Cliff Richard will become London 2012’s 4,467th torchbearer.
