Someone should buy his medal, then hand it back to him.
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He was thanked by the Queen and dubbed a hero for his part in foiling a kidnapping attempt on the young Princess Anne, but now, the man who punched her assailant in the head is selling his George Medal.

In 1974, the then 23-year-old Princess Anne was travelling by car back to Buckingham Palace after attending a charity event on Pall Mall with her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips. Suddenly, a car blocked their way, with the driver Ian Ball pulling a handgun on the Princess. After shooting her chauffeur and security officer, whose gun had jammed, plus a nearby tabloid journalist who had also tried to intervene on her behalf, the attack was finally stopped by a passing boxer, who punched Mr Ball in the head.

Following his act of bravery, Ronnie Russell was presented with the George Medal for bravery by the Queen, who told him: 'The medal is from the Queen, but I want to thank you as Anne's mother.'

Now, following ill health, the 72-year-old has made the heartbreaking decision to sell the memento, telling the BBC: 'It was something I said I would never, ever do.'

He does have one caveat to the buyer though - he'd like them to ask him to tell his story: 'What I would like is whoever does eventually buy the medal, I would hope they might invite me somewhere to tell them about what happened on the night,' he said.

Reminiscing about the momentous event, he said: 'She was very, very together, telling [Ball]: "Just go away and don't be such a silly man." He stood there glaring at me with the gun and I hit him. I hit him as hard as I could and he was flat on the floor face down.'

Auctioneer Oliver Pepys, from Dix Noonan Webb, said: 'To be offering this peacetime medal, with such a cracking story, is a huge honour.' The auction house has previously sold two George Medals, both earned during World War II. This one is expected to raise between £15,000-£20,000.

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Someone should buy his medal, then hand it back to him.

Yes. One may hope.

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Originally posted by sigmonkey:

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Someone should buy his medal, then hand it back to him.

Yes. One may hope.

Or at least ask him to hold on to it for him until he passes on.

I would hope the royal family would step up and help the gentleman... he is a true hero..

Yeah, they could give him back some of the tax money they've been bilking off him his whole life.
To help him out. Maybe they could tax the little Prince who is walking way from his "duties" with millions upon millions.

I'm just astonished that there is still such a thing as "Royals". Literally beside myself in bewilderment.

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Originally posted by r0gue:
Yeah, they could give him back some of the tax money they've been bilking off him his whole life.
To help him out. Maybe they could tax the little Prince who is walking way from his "duties" with millions upon millions.

I'm just astonished that there is still such a thing as "Royals". Literally beside myself in bewilderment.

Thanks for missing the point.

He intervened and stopped an armed killer, was honored for his courage, and your take-away is that the monarchy is bad?

Kudos to Russell for punching the kidnapper in the head and leading the Princess away to safety. I hope he never had to buy another beer for the rest of his life.

FWIW:

A journalist also tried to intervene, but was shot in the chest. After he recovered from his wounds, he received a lesser medal, the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

The security officer's gun that jammed was a Walther PPK

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Originally posted by Fenris:

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Originally posted by sigmonkey:

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Someone should buy his medal, then hand it back to him.

Yes. One may hope.

Or at least ask him to hold on to it for him until he passes on.

Agreed

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

This is a truly appalling state of affairs, in more than one way.

I don't know if there is an equivalent US government medal awarded to civilians for bravery, but can you imagine having to pawn it?

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Originally posted by tacfoley:
I don't know if there is an equivalent US government medal awarded to civilians for bravery

Kinda, but not really.

We have the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is sometimes handed out for bravery, but more often as a recognition of service or for outstanding achievement in a certain field. (Or to curry political points. Or just because that President likes their music or their athletic ability.) That tends to water it down a bit.

There are some more specific bravery medals awarded by various government departments for bravery in specific circumstances, like the Defense Medal of Valor awarded to civilians who showed immense courage while working alongside the military, or the National Intelligence Cross and Intelligence Medal of Valor for civilian heroism while working as part of an intelligence operation.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:
Yeah, they could give him back some of the tax money they've been bilking off him his whole life.
To help him out. Maybe they could tax the little Prince who is walking way from his "duties" with millions upon millions.

I'm just astonished that there is still such a thing as "Royals". Literally beside myself in bewilderment.

Literally, eh?

But I thought the British health care system took wonderful (and free) care of their subjects.
People on Sigforum take better care of their members than this. Surprising the British public wouldn't do the same for this guy.
Maybe Princess Anne or the Queen herself could spare a dime for this poor guy.

+1

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Originally posted by sig229-SAS:
I would hope the royal family would step up and help the gentleman... he is a true hero..

The Queen also paid off his mortgage after this incident - he was close to having the home repossessed.

"He also revealed that the Queen had paid off his mortgage following the incident, telling the Daily Mirror: They were looking round my home and saying, ‘Oh this is a nice house’,” he told the Daily Mirror: 'They asked if I had a mortgage and I said, "Yes, yes, why?" They said, "Well we are really telling you this a bit early but the Queen is going to pay off your mortgage as a gift for what you have done." I thought that was wonderful. I was actually close to repossession at the time. They were going to repossess my home. So I dug myself out of that one.'"

So hero or not, he ain't great with finances.

Lord Ashcroft might be the guy one is looking for.

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Originally posted by tatortodd:

The security officer's gun that jammed was a Walther PPK

My first gun was a Walther PPK/s. It was a POS jammomatic. It was an attractive paperweight, but that was it.

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Originally posted by tacfoley:
This is a truly appalling state of affairs, in more than one way.

I don't know if there is an equivalent US government medal awarded to civilians for bravery, but can you imagine having to pawn it?

Wasn't he given the George Medal instead of the one the others got because he had served The Queen in the British military?

No, all three medals awarded, the George Cross, the George Medal and the Queen's Gallantry Medal are awarded to civilians as well as the military for deeds of bravery that do not entail enemy action.

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Originally posted by tacfoley:
No, all three medals awarded, the George Cross, the George Medal and the Queen's Gallantry Medal are awarded to civilians as well as the military for deeds of bravery that do not entail enemy action.

IE Chicken-SXXX medals. Sign me up. It is a good life, being a Royal. One must protect The Firm, at all costs.

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Originally posted by FishOn:

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Originally posted by tacfoley:
No, all three medals awarded, the George Cross, the George Medal and the Queen's Gallantry Medal are awarded to civilians as well as the military for deeds of bravery that do not entail enemy action.

IE Chicken-SXXX medals. Sign me up. It is a good life, being a Royal. One must protect The Firm, at all costs.

Huh? Hardly chicken shit, hater

The George Cross is the UK's second highest honor.

Tac, would these be the rough equivalents? These are the USA's 3 highest awards (for military):

Victoria Cross = Medal of Honor

George Cross = Distinguished Service Cross (Army)/Navy Cross/Air Force Cross

George Medal = Distinguished Service Medal

Too bad we couldn’t do a fund raiser here

Para could hang onto the medal - post a pic of it every so often

I hope someone does buy it and gift it back.