MADDISON, Christopher Richard

Rank: 
Marine
Unit / Base: 
'3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines'
Regiment/Corps: 
Royal Marines
Service: 
Royal Navy
Number: 
P053354J
Born: 
Thursday, March 22, 1979
Died : 
Sunday, March 30, 2003
Killed in action or died of wounds
Age: 
24
Local Roll of Honour: 
Mne Chris Maddison 3 Commando Bde
Marine Christopher Maddison, 9 Assault Sqn. RM, died of shrapnel wounds after his landing craft came under fire on a river patrol near Basra last March. An initial investigation by the Royal Military Police blamed his death on an Iraqi ambush, but a Royal Navy board of inquiry concluded that he had been killed by fire from his own side.
On March 30 2003 a boat group of two landing craft and inshore raiding craft were scouring the marshes and reed beds southeast of Az Aubayr in southern Iraq in search of enemy activity. 
As Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel November One edged cautiously into the main waterway to assess the situation, the craft was hit simultaneously by small arms fire and an anti-tank missile. The three crew in the wheelhouse were all injured – two men were knocked unconscious while 24-year-old Mne Maddison suffered injuries from which he subsequently died in field hospital. Two further crewmen in the well deck were blown into the water by the blast and a corporal received extensive cuts to his face from shrapnel.
November One was subsequently renamed November Mike in Mne Maddison’s honour and each year both 9 Assault Squadron Royal Marines and HMS Ocean, the green beret’s two parent units, hold a November Mike Memorial Day to not just remember Chris, but celebrate his life and achievements.
 
Sources
MOD / Royal Navy website report 08/05/2013.
Image below of plaque at the Armed Forces Memorial courtesy of Steve Jackson, RN.
 
Primary Roll of Honour: 

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