The bravery medals of a Falklands War hero who led an epic assault during the legendary Battle of Goose Green are being sold by his widow for £70,000.
Corporal Barry ‘Baz’ Grayling broke cover to charge an enemy machine gun nest which was holding up the British advance at Coronation Ridge.
The 19-year-old soldier was fired at from point blank range but his life was saved by his water bottle which deflected the bullets.
The bottle exploded, shattering his hip 10 yards from the post, but as he fell to the ground he kept firing, taking out an Argentine machine gunner.
Tragically, his best friend Lance Corporal Garry ‘Gaz’ Bingley, who charged alongside him, was shot in the head and killed.
Corporal Grayling, of 11 Platoon, 2nd Battalion, was awarded a Military Medal for his ‘heroic action with a total disregard for his own safety’.
He died aged 60 last December and his American wife of over 30 years is reluctantly parting with his medals after he urged her to sell them to give herself financial security.
Sheryl Grayling said: ‘He tried to talk to me about selling the medals when he was sick, and I wouldn’t hear it.
Corporal Barry ‘Baz’ Grayling, who led an epic assault during the legendary Battle of Goose Green. He died aged 60 in 2023. His wife is now reluctantly selling his bravery medals
‘So, he told Shelly, my daughter, to make me do it so that I would have some financial security.’
Corporal Grayling was born in 1963 and lived in Felixstowe, Suffolk, before joining the British Army in 1979.
He served in Germany and Kenya in 1981 before embarking for the South Atlantic as part of the British force sent by Margaret Thatcher to re-take the Falklands following their invasion by Argentine forces.
Corporal Grayling departed in April 1982 with 11 Platoon, ‘D’ Company, 2 Para.
They were among the very first of the task force to be put ashore, landing on ‘Blue Beach’ in Bonner’s Bay, San Carlos Water, in the early hours of May 21.
They climbed to the summit of Sussex Mountain to ensure no Argentine force could disrupt the British landings during what was officially code named Operation Corporate.
They were then tasked with raiding the Argentine garrison holding the settlement of Goose Green 15 miles south of them.
It was feared that Argentine forces might use its airfield and troops to deliver strikes on the British troops closing in on Stanley.
At just after dusk on May 26, the paratroopers trekked eight miles in darkness through marshy and rocky terrain towards the unoccupied Camilla Creek House.
The full assault was launched on the following evening, with Corporal Grayling’s D Company reaching Coronation Point after day break on May 28.
His joint citation with Lance Corporal Bingley reads: ‘Private Grayling and Lance Corporal Bingley were members of a machine gun team when two enemy machine gun posts opened up on the Company’s right flank.
‘The enemy’s heavy rate of fire threatened to stop the advance.
Corporal Grayling’s medal group consists of the Military Medal; South Atlantic 1982; General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland
‘Private Grayling and Lance Corporal Bingley moved to a position where they thought they could put down suppressive fire.
‘Instead, they found themselves within ten metres of the enemy.
‘With a total disregard for their own safety they immediately attacked and destroyed the enemy machine gun position.
‘Lance Corporal Bingley was killed and Private Grayling continued and successfully pressed home the assault.
‘Their heroic action ensured that the company could continue its advance. For his part in this attack in which his conduct, bearing and determination were of a very high order indeed.’
Corporal Grayling later recalled: ‘It was hard and tiring. My company kept attacking positions and pushing forward until we got to the airfield… I lost some very good friends out there.
‘I am just glad the job is over and glad to be home.’
The Goose Green offensive was crucially important as it took place the same week Argentine bombers had destroyed four Royal Navy ships and badly damaged five others.
The decisive victory was achieved despite British troops being outnumbered two to one.
It paved the way for the Argentine surrender 17 days later.
Private Grayling was treated by 2nd Battalion medic Lance Corporal Martin Bentley, who later recalled: ‘Grayling was hit at close range in his water bottle – it exploded shattering his hip.
‘As Grayling collapsed, still firing, they silenced the Argie machine gunner.
The annotated scrap book, newspaper cuttings and letters that are also being sold
‘But as fate would have it the last few rounds squeezed off by the Argie gunner ripped through Gaz Bingley’s head, killing him instantly.’
Their Company commander Major Phil Neame recalled: ‘He’d (Bingley) gone to ground not really knowing quite where these machine-guns were and found himself virtually overlooking the position.
‘He and Grayling just went in and did an immediate assault and the two of them took the five-strong position between them.
‘But Bingley was killed in the process and Grayling slightly injured.
‘It was that sort of immediate get up and go and flair that really got us out of a very sticky situation.’
In total, 961 Argentine prisoners were taken at Goose Green, with about 50 killed in action and a further 112 wounded.
Sixteen British personnel were killed and 64 others wounded.
Argentina formally surrendered and relinquished control of the Falkland Islands to the British on June 14, 1982.
Corporal Grayling briefly returned to Britain before crossing the Atlantic again to serve in Belize.
Then followed a tour of operations in Northern Ireland from 1984 to 1985, and postings to the USA, Cyprus and Canada.
Corporal Grayling met Sheri in the US in 1988 while he was on rest leave in Miami from serving in Belize.
He was discharged from the Parachute Regiment in 1990 and relocated to America to live with her.
They both worked together for 20 years at Pasco High School in Tampa, Florida.
In addition to teaching, he also coached football, athletics, cross country and tennis.
The school has started a scholarship for students in his name.
Mrs Grayling added: ‘Barry bought me that car a month after we met because my car broke down; and he sent me payments like clockwork every month.
‘He also wrote me a letter every single day for two years until he got out of the military and came to see us every three months for three weeks on leave.
‘He’s the most upstanding person I could’ve ever known and probably ever will know.
‘We were like newlyweds for 36 years – right up to the end!’
His medals are going under the hammer at auctioneers Noonans, of Mayfair, with an estimate of £50,000 to £70,000.
Christopher Mellor-Hill, Head of Client Liaison at Noonans, said: ‘In the dark of night in late May 1982, Baz Grayling was a true hero during their night attack on the enemy bunkers at Goose Green, one of the most important assaults during the Falklands War.
‘Although Grayling and Bingley thought they could suppress the enemy fire, they found themselves just 10 metres from them.
‘With a total disregard for their own safety, they immediately attacked and destroyed the enemy machine gun position.’
Corporal Grayling’s medal group consists of the Military Medal; South Atlantic 1982; General Service 1962-2007, 1 clasp, Northern Ireland.
The sale takes place on October 8.
