Worksop soldier awarded commendation for heroic work in training front line troops in Ukraine

Lloyd Widdup, from Shireoaks, has just celebrated his 26th birthday on the southern coast of Ukraine while training front line troops to fight against the Russian invasion.

His work in Ukraine - all as a volunteer - has seen him become one of six English servicemen to ever receive an honorary beret from the Commandant of the Ukrainian Marine Corps.

The Commandant said Lloyd’s work has undoubtedly saved lives, and awarded him with momentos, including the beret.

Lloyd, a soldier with five years military experience in the Grenadier Guards, arrived in Ukraine at the end of March after hearing of Russia’s alleged war crimes.

He said: “I was watching the news and there was a civilian apartment block that had been hit, and this little frail old lady was being pulled out of the rubble.

“That was the final straw for me where I thought, right, I'm gonna go in and do anything that I can.”

Lloyd packed his bags, booked a flight to Poland, and walked over the border where he met troops that had travelled from as far as Australia to help Ukraine.

He was then sent to an area in southern Ukraine on a 14-hour train journey to teach Marines medical training and how to use javelin missiles, two areas Lloyd has specialised in – all just five kilometres from Russian troops.

Since then, he has been part of a team training up thousands of men six days a week.

He said: “We were getting bombed and shelled daily, it was just completely normal at that point.

“We had a bit of a problem with the Russian Air Force for one or two days, we had some really big cruise missile hits in the town as well.

"When we finish training the Marines, the love and respect they give us, we know what they think of us.

"We always finish with a final exercise to confirm what they’ve learned and we have a barbeque. It hurts to leave them, because we know what they're going to be getting into.

"We try every now and again to see how they’re getting on and see if they have any questions, but when they’ve not replied in a couple of days you know the score.

“I'm not oblivious to the risks. When you join, you know that you're going to have to put yourself in harm's way for something that’s right.

"It’s hard not to feel guilty sometimes for causing my family a bit of stress, like maybe I would’ve been better off at home because if something happens how would my family deal with it?

"But I think it’s just who I am – they know me well enough. I think this is the one time I’ve done the right thing.

"It’s something that I'll be able to tell my grandkids when I'm old and boring, and they’ll say not again grandad.”

Lloyd will be returning to Worksop in a couple of weeks for some downtime with his friends and family.

He said: “It’ll be very different, it will take a little bit of time adjusting to being back at home.

“I'm gonna have a bit of a break and then raise some funds because we've done quite well with what we've managed to supply.

“We've had a lot of money donated and we've bought medical supplies for the soldiers like tourniquets and bandages.”

Mum Tonianna Widdup said she will be making Lloyd one of her Sunday roasts when he gets back. She said: “I am immensely proud of him. He said he was only going for two weeks.

"I will be glad to get my boy home.”

To donate to Lloyd’s fundraiser, click here.