The military career of Devizes soldier Ben Gale was crowned when he received a long service and good conduct medal from the Prince of Wales last week.

Staff Sergeant Gale, 33, of the 1st Regiment Army Air Corps based in Germany, joined the Army in 1995 and received his medal in recognition of his exemplary service.

The former Devizes School pupil returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan in January where he was an acting warrant officer working in a busy operations room, arranging casualty evacuations, flights in and out of camp, and co-ordinated Apache helicopter missions in support of ground troops.

Sgt Gale admitted to feeling excited and a little nervous about meeting the Prince, who is the Royal Colonel in Chief of the Army Air Corps.

Sgt Gale, who has also served in Iraq and Bosnia, said: “It was extremely challenging in Afghanistan but the experience gave me a great sense of achievement. Sometimes I had to arrange the extraction of seriously injured soldiers from the ground, saving their lives.

“I had never done anything like this before. We worked 12-hour shifts, but it was incredibly rewarding.”

His wife Lucy, 34, whom he met while they were teenagers at Devizes School, and their three children Ollie, four, William, two, and two-month-old Harriet, flew to Germany for the ceremony.

Also there were his mother, Julie, and sister Anna Schofield.

Sgt Gale added: “It’s a great honour to be given my medal by His Royal Highness. I was very excited and nervous before the event, but he put me at ease.”

In his speech to nearly 200 soldiers on parade who had returned from Afghanistan, Prince Charles said: “This is an opportunity to express my thanks and greatest possible appreciation for what you do.”