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| Melvyn Parry |
| Royal Artillery |
| Died 21st May, 2023. |
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| Melvyn Parry was born at Mold, North Wales, on December 2 1946.
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| In 1961 he enlisted into the Royal Artillery as a Boy Soldier and joined the A.A.J.L.R. |
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| From there he went to the 7th Parachute Regiment, Royal Horse Artillery (7 RHA), part of the 16th Parachute Brigade based in Aldershot and then on to join the S.A.S. |
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He was leader of the Special Air Service (S.A.S.) “balcony team” which assaulted the Iranian Embassy in May 1980 after terrorists seized control of the building and 26 hostages in Princes Gate, South Kensington. |
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| “Operation Nimrod”, of which the balcony team was one element, introduced the wider world to the S.A.S. and the now familiar images of assault teams dressed in “the black kit”, wearing respirators and carrying Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine-guns. |
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| Mel was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his actions. The citation for the award was not published at the time, in keeping with Special Forces practice. But the final sentence reads: “Throughout the incident Trooper Parry set an outstanding example of courage and cool decisive leadership which was far in excess of that expected from a man of his rank.” |
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| For his services helping Norway in the development of its Norwegian Special Forces he was awarded the Norwegian Army Medal of Merit. |
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| Mel’s other interests included rugby and boxing, and during his service he mastered colloquial Malay and Arabic. |
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| Mel Parry is survived by his wife Gail and a daughter. |
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| From: John Farrell |
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