Soldier who led Afghanistan bayonet charge into hail of bullets honoured The father of two said: "We were about to wrap up the operation and head back to the checkpoint. We were crossing a ditch when the shooting started. I was just coming out of the ditch and most of the fire was coming at me. I hit the deck immediately. I have been shot at quite a few times and could tell the enemy was close. Gravel and dirt were flying up all around me from the bullets. Caught in the killing zone and unable to advance into the hail of fire, the soldiers withdrew to the relative safety of the water-filled ditch to return fire but were trapped as the insurgents moved in to try to overwhelm their position. "We had to react quickly," said Cpl Jones. There was something different about this. It was obviously a well-planned ambush and they overwhelmed us with fire from three points initially. Firing a rocket at one of the insurgent positions, Cpl Jones ordered three of his men to fix bayonets before breaking cover and leading them across 80 metres of open ground raked by enemy fire. I asked them if they were happy. They were all quite young lads and the adrenalin was racing. I shouted follow me and we went for it. I got 'Commander's Legs' on and was going very quickly. I realised I'd left them behind a bit so had to slow down and was engaged again, so I organised my guys who started attacking the enemy firing points," he said. As two of the soldiers provided fire support, Cpl Jones prepared a hand grenade for the final assault. He raced towards an alley and was about to throw the grenade but said he realised that the buildings were occupied so put the grenade away. But the speed, aggression and audacity of his response caused the insurgents to fall back in disarray. Sporadic enemy fire continued. Cpl Jones rallied his men to launch another assault just as the platoon commander and the rest of the patrol, who had been suppressing the other enemy position during the charge, rejoined the group. The insurgents melted away. We always said we want to pick our fight. We knew this was the time to do it. Before this, the locals were wary of us but this showed they could trust us to protect them from the enemy and that we wouldn't endanger them while doing it," Cpl Jones said. We built good relationships, chatting to them on patrols, kicking balls around with the children. They knew the Taliban could no longer enforce curfews on them and things got much better with their way of life. The soldier's citation states that Cpl Jones demonstrated "unflinching courage and extraordinary leadership in the face of extreme and tangible danger." He "epitomised the best qualities of the British infantry: gritty determination, controlled aggression, tactical cunning and complete disregard for his own safety." Scores of other personnel were also recognised in the honours for their incredible bravery and contributions. Rifleman Matthew Wilson, 21, of 2 Rifles, received the Military Cross for running to protect a wounded comrade in a deadly game of cat and mouse in which he was shot in the head. Rifleman Wilson, of Aberystwyth, ran forward into open ground in Nahr-e Saraj to help his colleague, who was shot in the leg, when a bullet glanced off the top of his helmet knocking him unconscious for 30 seconds before being shaken awake. Bullets continued to pepper the soldiers' location from a hidden sniper. "I just remember waking up with a massive headache but I didn't realise what had happened right away," the rifleman said. Insurgents tried to shoot down a casualty evacuation helicopter so Rifleman Wilson dodged a hail of bullets to find cover and return fire and stood on a wall to point out the insurgents' firing spot to an incoming Apache attack helicopter. He added: "When I got up, the insurgent who shot me knew I was still alive so he kept on firing at me. Staying there wasn't a good place to be, but also we couldn't risk the helicopter going down or the shooter hitting the casualty or one of the helicopter crew. We needed to do something about it and nobody else cold get eyes on the shooter's position. So I started pegging it. Rifleman Wilson then continued with his four-hour patrol. In total, 107 service personnel were honoured yesterday, with many tales of remarkable bravery including: an officer singled out as "the principal architect of an extraordinary momentum of transition in security responsibility" to the Afghans; a sapper who worked to clear a supply route of homemade bombs after one of his colleagues died and four others were badly injured trying; and a captain who fought in more than 50 high intensity battles and who returned to Afghanistan despite almost dying three years ago when his neck was shredded with shrapnel. Introducing the honours at London's National Army Museum, Adjutant General, Lieutenant General Gerald Berragan, said: "Every day in Afghanistan our service men and women face mortal danger. They do this with the full knowledge of the danger presented by a clever and ruthless enemy. Although just a small fraction of them are here today I pay tribute to all of them. This list recognises the achievement and bravery of individuals across a number of theatres of operation but inevitably includes many people who served in Afghanistan last winter under the command of 20 Armoured Brigade.