David Hayden (pilot)

David James Hayden MC (born c.1979) is the first Royal Air Force non-commissioned officer to win the Military Cross.

For the U.S. Navy medic and Medal of Honor recipient, see David E. Hayden. For the Archdeacon of Norfolk, see David Hayden (priest).

Early life

Hayden was born in Germany and attended the Gleed Boys' School in Spalding, where he grew up. His father (who died in June 2005, aged 49) was a tank driver in the Queen's Royal Hussars, becoming a Warrant Officer Class 2.[1]

RAF service

Hayden joined the RAF Regiment in 1997 and after a number of tours including time with No.2 RAF Force Protection Wing at RAF Leeming - with which he served in Afghanistan for the first time - he is currently a Sergeant.[2] He is a qualified instructor.

While serving in Iraq in 2007, as part of No.4 RAF Force Protection Wing (of which 1 Squadron is a sub-unit), he showed outstanding courage while commanding a dismounted patrol in a fight against an insurgent force, repeatedly risking his own life to rescue a wounded comrade and extract his team.[3] His Military Cross was gazetted on 7 March 2008.[4]

Footnotes
  1. "Kate signs last page in memory of James", Spalding Today, 30 November 2005
  2. "Gunners honoured for outstanding courage". Thetford and Brandon Times. 7 March 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
  3. Ministry of Defence website Archived 13 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "No. 58633". The London Gazette (Supplement). 7 March 2008. pp. 3615–3619.


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