ONE of Britain’s bravest soldiers is backing a charity for people affected by brain injury.

Headway Oxfordshire celebrated its 25th anniversary when Sgt Johnson Beharry, the youngest Victoria Cross recipient, unveiled an engraved milestone in Kennington.

The charity invited members and dignitaries on Friday to see Sgt Beharry reveal the stone donated by APS Masonry and Davis Stonemasonry at its centre in Bagley Wood Road.

Sgt Beharry, 33, suffered a severe brain injury while on active duty with the 1st Battalion of the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment in Iraq, in 2004, and is a Special Ambassador to the charity.

He said: “Headway is very close to my heart. I know what it’s like to live with a brain injury, I had to learn to speak again.

“It pleases me so much to hear that people feel completely supported by Headway.”

Sarah Gray, 48, of Ashcombe Crescent, Witney, spent six months in hospital last summer after a brain haemorrhage, having to re-learn to walk and talk.

She said: “I was an English teacher before so it’s very strange for me to struggle with things like spelling now.

“Sometimes people think I’m drunk because of my speech, but they are not always to know.

“I can be comfortable at Headway where we can all have a laugh together. What the charity does is really important.”

Headway Oxfordshire was launched in 1982 by a group of people who wanted to provide support for brain injury victims and their carers.

Many of its founders have family members with brain injuries.

One of the founders, Shelia Sargeant, said: “The most important thing for Headway and for all charities is the volunteers – they are the backbone of everything.

“The dedication and love they put into it all is magnificent.”

Her son Gerrard suffered a brain injury after being hit by a car at the top of Home Close, Wootton in 1979.

Like other parents in her position, she wanted a place where families and victims could meet to share their experiences.

Also at the event were Oxford West and Abingdon MP Nicola Blackwood and the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, Prof Graham Upton.

Ms Blackwood said: “Headway Oxfordshire is just extraordinary and I have to say that the achievement of reaching 25 years is something that everyone should be proud of.”

The newly-appointed High Sheriff, who has a background in special needs education, added: “I think the stonework is wonderful and signifies the stability of this organisation.

“It’s fantastic that Headway has such enthusiastic volunteers who are so committed to a particular cause.”

In 2005, Sgt Beharry, from the Caribbean island of Grenada, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his exceptional courage in twice braving intense machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire to save dozens of colleagues.

On May 1, 2004, he was driving a Warrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle that had been called to the assistance of a foot patrol at Al-Amarah, Iraq, which had been caught in a series of ambushes.

The Warrior was hit by multiple rocket-propelled grenades and he drove the vehicle through the ambush and then helped his wounded colleagues to get out.

Back on duty on June 11, 2004, his vehicle was again ambushed and a rocket-propelled grenade hit the vehicle six inches from his head and he received serious shrapnel injuries to his face and brain.

Despite this, he drove the vehicle out of the ambush area before losing consciousness.