Milnrow man awarded MBE for services to military

Lt Col Wild

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A Milnrow-born man has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Years Honours List for his services to the military.

Lieutenant Colonel Sheldon Daniel Wild, 53, of The King’s Royal Hussars, was born in Milnrow and attended Roch Valley High School before joining the army when he was 15-years-old.

Lt Col Wild was awarded the MBE for his work as the Lt Col Quartermaster of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corp, a Joint NATO HQ, that had to move back from Germany in 2010 to Imjin Barracks in Innsworth, Gloucestershire and prepare itself for a year long deployment in Afghanistan.

Known in the Army as Danny, Lt Col Wild, said: “I was informed of my award by General Sir Richard Sherriff who is the Commanding General of the ARRC and who also is an Officer I have served with together many times over the last 35 years as we are in the same Regiment which made it even nicer.”

Lt Col Wild, is currently serving at HQ Rhine Garrison, Germany, but has served all over the world, including Canada, USA, Germany and Cyprus.

He joined the Army as a Trooper in the Kings Royal Hussars – which is Lancashire’s Armoured Cavalry Regiment - in 1974.

He has served on operations in Northern Ireland, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leonne and Afghanistan.

On completion of his 22 years service in the ranks in 1997 Lt Col Wild was commissioned to become a Lieutenant. In 1999 he was promoted to Captain in Kosovo, in 2003 he was promoted to Major in Iraq and in 2009 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel – the highest rank a soldier commissioned from the ranks can achieve.

This isn’t the first award for Lt Col Wild, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1985 he was awarded the British Empire Medal and in 2005 he was awarded the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal.

Lt Col Wild said he was “very proud.”

He added: “I’m a working class lad from Rochdale and it’s like I’ve got to the top of Everest!”

Lt Col Wild has two and a half years left to serve. He lives in Germany with his wife Sabine who he has been married to for 32 years and they have a daughter Jasmin who is 30.

Lt Col Wild’s mother, Ethel, lives in Littleborough and his brothers and sisters are still local.

His sister, Lindsy Cooke, said: “We are just so pleased. There’s eight of us, I’m the youngest and Sheldon is the middle.

“We came from a council estate in Milnrow and we are so very proud.”

Lt Col Wild said that when he attends the investiture he will be taking his wife and daughter and his sister's daughter Olivia.