- SURNAME
Hoyland
- FORENAME
Daniel Matthew
- UNIT
Parachute Regiment (3 PARA)
- RANK
Corporal
- NUMBER
30072067
- AWARD
Mention in Despatches
- PLACE
2021
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
born Barnsley
served previously Afghanistan, Bosnia
aged 31 when received MiD
London Gazette 63695, 13th May 2022, Page 9122
His citation states: “He immediately left the secure zone inside the main gate of the Evacuee Handling Centre to rush towards the blast, despite the potential for a further explosion.
“Without hesitation he searched for explosive devices and, undeterred by the carnage, began to triage the injured and direct medical assistance to those most in need. His immediate actions undoubtedly saved lives.”
Barnsley-born Corporal Hoyland on learning of his award, said: “I didn’t expect to receive this award. It feels really good. I thought I was just getting a ‘well done’ from my Commanding Officer.”
Reflecting on the events of Op Pitting, he said: “When the IED went off, my section were the closest to it out of the British Forces. I was about 60 metres away, I got a burst eardrum. There were a lot of casualties, and I was dealing with the crowd and trying to save as many people as possible. That’s the things I will remember forever.
“People were working round the clock and sleep deprived but everybody was doing a good job. It was short and sharp, but it was a pretty hard thing to get done,” he said.
Corporal Hoyland, who has previously served on tours of Afghanistan and Bosnia, learned he was going to be deploying to Afghanistan whilst attending a friend’s wedding. 36 hours later he was on the plane. He said: “I felt lucky to be involved in it because I’d just come back from ITC Catterick, where I was training recruits. The last Afghanistan tour I did was in 2010 to 2011 so to get out there for the last part of it was good.”
Last edited:
