Lt Joseph Louis Philip Horace Boucher 204th Fd Coy, RE, Military Cross

Lieutenant Boucher, on loan to the British Army, was posted to command a platoon of 204 Field Company Royal Engineers in the Normandy bridgehead and took part in every operation with his company from then until the end of the campaign in Europe. He has consistently set a high standard of gallantry and leadership. Notable instances were on 24 September 1944 in ferrying troops across the Neder Rijn to the relief of the 1st Airborne Division at Arnhem, when he was in charge of the assault boats with the leading company, in March 1945 in bridging a stream near Neider Mortmer during the approach to Xanten where his platoon suffered heavy casualties, and in opening the road to Alhorn in April 1945 where, on foot, he directed the work of the armoured bulldozers and tankdozers in the forefront of the battle. He has never had the good fortune to participate in a spectacular feat of arms but for steady, consistent work and devotion to duty in the face of danger his record is hard to beat.