THE widow of a soldier who died a day after being told he had won the Military Cross received the medal from the Queen on Tuesday.
Salford-born Sergeant Darren Leigh, of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, collapsed and died on his 37th birthday.
The soldier won the MC for protecting a police station from armed rioters in Basra, Iraq, in August 2003.
Despite being wounded by a grenade, he and his men charged at the 300-strong mob,who were armed with guns and grenades, demoralising and dispersing them.
His MC was the first awarded to his regiment in more than 40 years but, the day after learning he had been honoured, he died at his home in Cyprus from a suspected brain haemorrhage.
His widow, Marie, received the medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.
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