Talaiasi Labalaba
{{Short description|British-Fijian SAS soldier in the Battle of Mirbat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Talaiasi Labalaba
|honorific_suffix= BEM
|image= Flickr - davehighbury - Royal Artillery Museum Woolwich London 175.jpg
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption= Memorial to Sergeant Labalaba at the Royal Artillery Museum, London
|nickname= "Laba"
|birth_date= {{birth date|1942|07|13|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Fiji
|death_date= {{death date and age|1972|07|19|1942|07|13|df=yes}}
|death_place= Mirbat, Oman
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= British Army
|serviceyears= 1960–1972
|rank= Sergeant
|servicenumber= 23892771
|unit= Royal Ulster Rifles
Royal Irish Rangers
Special Air Service
|commands=
|battles= Aden Emergency
Dhofar Rebellion
|awards= British Empire Medal
Mentioned in Despatches
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
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.{{AFM roll of honour|id=X9129|name=Labalaba, Talaiasi|access-date=23 May 2015}} Labalaba initially served in the British Army in the Royal Ulster Rifles.He is listed under that regiment and not under SAS in his entry on the Armed Forces Memorial Roll of Honour. His government-issued headstone bears the RIR regimental crest, with the SAS 'winged dagger' a subsidiary depiction.
Battle of Mirbat
File:Dhofar-BATT house (2).jpg
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, Oman.
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 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
File:Statue of Talaiasi Labalaba.jpg]]
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 New Elizabethans in celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee.{{cite web|title=The New Elizabethans: Talaiasi Labalaba|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01l7sfk|publisher=BBC|access-date=31 July 2012}}
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 Duke and Duchess of Sussex.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45974280|title=Forgotten war hero honoured by royals|date=2018-10-25|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-10-25|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/harry-statue-in-fiji-mid-shot-1/10429480|title=Prince Harry unveils a statue in Fiji|date=2018-10-25|website=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=2018-10-26}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-25/prince-harry-and-meghan-unveil-statue-in-fiji-head-to-tonga/10428918|title=Prince Harry and Meghan arrive in Tonga after unveiling statue of SAS hero|date=2018-10-25|work=ABC News|access-date=2018-10-26|language=en-AU}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.fijitimes.com/harry-and-meghan-fiji-visit-prince-harry-unveils-statue-of-sas-labalaba|title=Harry and Meghan Fiji visit: Prince Harry unveils statue of SAS Labalaba|work=The Fiji Times|access-date=2018-10-26|language=en}}
Footnotes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Michael Paul |title=Soldier I: SAS |year=1990 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |location=London |isbn=0747507503 |pages=320 }}
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hereford/worcs/3219357.stm BBC News Article]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labalaba, Talaiasi}}
Category:British military personnel killed in action
Category:British military personnel of the Aden Emergency
Category:British military personnel of the Dhofar War
Category:Recipients of the British Empire Medal
Category:Royal Ulster Rifles soldiers