While a best man has a lot of responsibilities before a wedding, but Lance Corporal Scott “Ringer” Townson has set a new benchmark for others by saving the life of his friend and groom-to-be twice in a year. Lance Corporal Craig Turley was on patrol with the 1 Rifles in the Nar-E-Saraj district of Afghanistan nearly lost his left hand when an exploding grenade severed an artery. Exactly a year later he was bitten by a venomous snake while training in Kenya. Luckily for the 28-year-old, L/Cpl Townson, a medic, was there to help on both occasions. The fact both incidents happened exactly a year apart, on September 23, will have made choosing a date for the wedding a little easier, with the couple undoubtedly keen to prevent an unlucky third mishap. Clearly up to the task of being best man, L/Cpl Townson will now also be on hand when L/Cpl Turley marries fiance Amy Rhodes next April. L/Cpl Turley, from Marlborough, Wiltshire, told The Citizen newspaper: “When the hand grenade went off it created a lot of dust and fragmentation went into my left hand and it cut my artery. L/Cpl Townson: “I was just doing my job like anyone would”
