AN RAF High Wycombe chaplain who helped repatriate more than 50 British and Afghan military personnel and civilians has been awarded an MBE.

The extraordinary work of the Reverend Dr (Wing Commander) Giles Legood was revealed during a ceremony at the Honourable Artillery Company in London last month.

During his three-month tour of Afghanistan last summer, Padre Legood, 46, also provided spiritual help to Scottish units that had three men killed in action and six wounded, and to Georgian Army personnel dealing with a terrorist attack on their colleagues, resulting in more than 50 casualties in one day.

He worked closely with the hospital’s medical, nursing and support staff, recognising the emotional effect that exposure to horrific injury can have.

Speaking after being notified of the honour, Padre Legood, said: "It is humbling to receive this award which is, in part, public recognition for the work of all military chaplains, which, so often, goes on behind-the-scenes.

"It was a privilege to serve alongside the team at Bastion Hospital, who are regularly exposed to horrific scenes of suffering but work tirelessly to save lives whether they are British, from Coalition Forces, or Afghan."

Padre Legood, from Maidstone in Kent, was ordained in 1992. Previously a chaplain at the University of London, he joined the Royal Auxiliary Air Force’s 600 Squadron in 2004 as the first ever RAF reservist chaplain.

He transferred to the regular RAF in 2007 and was posted to RAF Northolt as chaplain. In this role he deployed on Operation Telic to Basra, Iraq, as chaplain to 903 Expeditionary Air Wing.