Talaiasi Labalaba BEM (13 July 1942 – 19 July 1972) was a British-Fijian sergeant in the SAS who was involved in the Battle of Mirbat on 19 July 1972. Labalaba initially served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the

Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

Battle of Mirbat

On 19 July 1972 the

Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf The Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير الخليج العربي المحتل, abbreviated PFLOAG), later renamed the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian ...

(PFLOAG) attacked the British Army Training Team (BATT) house, which housed the nine SAS soldiers, based just outside the port of

Mirbat Mirbat ( ar, مرباط) is a coastal town in the Dhofar governorate, in southwestern Oman. It was the site of the 1972 Battle of Mirbat between Communist guerrillas on one side and the armed forces of the Sultan of Oman and their Special Air Se ...

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

. Labalaba, aged 30, was shot dead in the neck whilst firing a 25-pounder gun at the attacking guerrilla forces. He displayed notable bravery by continuing to fire the 25 pounder single handed in spite of being seriously wounded when a bullet hit him on the face, after his

Omani Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

loader was seriously wounded early in the battle. Captain Mike Kealy and fellow troopers Tommy Tobin and Sekonaia Takavesi ran a gauntlet of enemy fire but arrived too late to save Labalaba. Both the troopers were also hit, Takavesi was wounded in the shoulder, head, and stomach while Tobin was killed when a round crept through the sand-bagged walls and hit him in the face. Labalaba's actions helped to keep the insurgents pinned down until BAC Strikemaster, Strikemaster jets of the Sultan of Oman's Air Force, SOAF arrived to drive back the attackers while reinforcements from Salalah could be organised. Fellow SAS trooper Roger Cole in his book of the battle, ''SAS: Operation Storm'', paid tribute to Labalaba saying if the guerrilla force had taken the 25-pounder then the SAS would have surely lost the battle.

Honours

Labalaba was awarded a posthumous Mention in Despatches for his actions in the Battle of Mirbat, although some of his former comrades have campaigned for him to be awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. His body was returned to England and buried in the cemetery at St Martin's Church, Hereford. In 2012 he was chosen as one of BBC Radio 4's 60 The New Elizabethans, New Elizabethans in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Diamond Jubilee. A statue of Labalaba was erected in 2009 at the SAS headquarters in Herefordshire, and another, at Nadi International Airport in Fiji, dedicated in 2018 during a visit by the Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Duke and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Duchess of Sussex.

Footnotes

References

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BBC News Article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labalaba, Talaiasi 1942 births 1972 deaths British military personnel killed in action British military personnel of the Aden Emergency British military personnel of the Dhofar Rebellion Recipients of the British Empire Medal Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers Special Air Service soldiers Royal Irish Rangers soldiers