TROULAN, Dominic Charles Rupert

Rank: 
Sergeant
Regiment/Corps: 
Royal Marines
Service: 
Royal Navy
Number: 
P038978B
Sergeant Dominic Troulan was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Northern Ireland [1].
Dominic Troulan QGM, having retired from military service, was awarded the George Cross for saving lives during the Westgate Shopping Mall terrorist attack in Kenya in 2013 [2].
Citation
"On 21 September 2013, a group of heavily-armed terrorists entered the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya and started to murder men, women and children indiscriminately. Dominic Troulan, a security consultant working in Nairobi, was contacted by a friend who asked him to go to the incident to try and locate the friend’s wife and daughter. 
On arrival at the Mall, Troulan contacted the family by telephone and entered the Mall. He was armed with only a pistol while the area was dominated by terrorists armed with grenades and machine guns. Nevertheless, Troulan managed to bring the two women to safety. 
Realising that large numbers of civilians remained trapped while the terrorists continued to kill indiscriminately, Troulan re-entered the Mall.
Over the course of several hours, he went into the building at least a dozen times and on each occasion managed to bring many innocent civilians to safety. He was fired on twice by the terrorists but managed to force them back. By now, Troulan was exhausted, dehydrated and at the limit of his mental capacity. He was about to stop when a distress call was received from a woman who was trapped, injured and bleeding. Once again, Troulan entered the Mall and brought the woman to safety.
Despite the strain of his efforts, it should be noted that Troulan had the presence of mind to realise that the terrorists could be hiding among the survivors. Troulan enlisted help and searched the civilians once he had led them to safety, thus ensuring that no terrorists were hiding in their midst" [2].
 
Sources
[1] London Gazette 54393, page 6548 dated 10 May 1996.
[2] London Gazette.61969, page 11774.
 

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