Man's leg torn off on Cresta Run | NEWS.com.au Interestingly, the news.com.au version doesn't go for the war hero angle or comment that he's dashing. Army hero's leg torn off on sled run | Toboggan crash | St Moritz | Captain Bernie Bambury | The Sun |HomePage|News WAR hero Captain Bernie Bambury’s leg was torn off in an 80mph toboggan crash — and he did not even realise it was missing. Bernie, 32, COMPLETED the famous Cresta Run, then asked: “Is my ankle broken?” He was told: “It’s not broken, it’s gone.” The dashing Army officer survived six months in Iraq unscathed, only to suffer the horrific accident in St Moritz, Switzerland. Swiss microsurgeons sewed the limb back on. But after nine operations they told Bernie it would be two years before he could walk — and he might never regain full mobility. So the tough soldier from the 4th Battalion The Rifles ordered astonished medics: “Cut it off.” Yesterday he was fitted with a false leg and hopes to be back leading his men within a year. He told The Sun: “Amputation gave the best prospects for the rest of my life and the swiftest return to duty.” Bernie, based at Bulford, Wilts, tackled the fearsome Cresta Run — nearly a mile of solid ice — at an Army tobogganing event in January. His right foot hit a marker post and the leg, severed below the knee, was recovered hundreds of yards up the course after he crossed the finish. A source at the Zurich hospital where he was treated said: “It’s ironic the Captain should come back from Iraq without a scratch then lose his leg on a bobsleigh run. “He decided he would be better off without the leg. It was a tough call.” Bernie is now at the Headley Court Military Hospital in Epsom, Surrey, famous for its work fitting prosthetic limbs to wounded soldiers. A Ministry of Defence source said: “He’s keen to crack on and has the guts and determination to bounce back.”
Same with a Royal Marine a couple of years ago ice climbing in the Alps. he slipped and fell but his foot got caught in an ice crevasse and the break to his ankle was twisted. They could fix it but it would be permanently fixed in one position, giving him a dreadful limp and he'd have to leave the Army. he told them to lop it off and replace it with an ankle/foot that would bend. He went back to the Marines as a Boat commander. I understand they held a funeral and a wake for the dead foot.
Tough men. I remember watching a doco series for getting into the Royal Marines and they were on a timed run fully kitted up. One of the guys was lagging so they pushed him on but he didn't beat the time. They found out later he had a broken leg...he was accepted as a Marine!
Quite a normal occurence. And in todays paper my stomach was torn open but I tucked my shirt in and carried on. And a hell of a lot of well deserved medals.
Saw a shorter report on these in our local paper today, Kitty. Some amazing stories. What's not mentioned in the article you posted but was mentioned in the paper here was the MC awarded to the demale Merlin pilot who repeatedly flew into LZs under heavy fire to recover wounded etc. One of the comments left by a reader at your link is that these are the real heroes of the nation no matter what your opinion of the war. Very true.
