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 Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

in the

Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light 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 ...

Battle of Mirbat

On 19 July 1972 the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG) attacked the British Army Training Team (BATT) house, which housed the nine SAS soldiers, based just outside the port of

Mirbat Mirbat () is a coastal town in the Dhofar governorate, in southwestern Oman. In 2020, the town had a population of 9,886, while the wilayat as a whole had a population of 16,364. It was the site of the 1972 Battle of Mirbat between Communist g ...

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. 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, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

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 penetrated the sand-bagged walls and hit him in the face. Labalaba's actions helped to keep the insurgents pinned down until Strikemaster jets of the 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 lost the battle.

Honours

Labalaba was awarded a posthumous

Mention in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of t ...

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 The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

. 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 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's 60 New Elizabethans in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th annivers ...

. A statue of Labalaba was erected in 2009 at the SAS headquarters in Herefordshire, and another, at

Nadi International Airport Nadi International Airport is the main international airport of Fiji as well as an important regional hub for the South Pacific islands, located by the coast on the Ba Province in the Western Division, Fiji, Western Division of the main island V ...

in Fiji, dedicated in 2018 during a visit by the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

and

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

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 War Recipients of the British Empire Medal Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers Special Air Service soldiers Royal Irish Rangers soldiers