Lance Corporal Craig “Murf” Murfitt, 25, spotted a Taliban fighter on a rooftop in Helmand province using a 10-year-old girl as a human shield.
Although the rifleman and medic had the insurgent in his sights, he did not pull the trigger out of fear of hitting the girl.
However, the insurgent shot at L/Cpl Murfitt who survived only because the bullet ricocheted off his helmet.
The girl took her chance and fled and the rifleman’s comrades from the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment shot the insurgent.
L/Cpl Murfitt, who is looking forward to returning to his wife Erica and baby son, Finlay, in Barnstaple, Devon, next year, was in a Warthog armoured vehicle sent to help an infantry unit pinned down by the Taliban.
He said: “Our heavy firepower seemed to bring the fight to an end. Everything was quiet but then I spotted three men with a child on a compound roof.
“Two moved off, leaving one with the child – a girl, no more than 10 years old. The man picked up a rifle and moved behind the child, taking aim at me. I knew I could take him down but I didn’t want to run the risk of killing a kid and undoing all the good work we’ve achieved.
“So I waited, hoping the child would drop down and give me a clear shot.”
But the Taliban fired hitting L/Cpl Murfitt on the side of his helmet, knocking him to the floor.
He said: “I felt the dent in my helmet and said, ‘I’ve been shot in the head but I’m fine.’ I tried to stand up but I had disco legs and just had to sit down again.”
L/Cpl Murfitt was back on patrol later that day, providing support to British troops and first aid to locals.
An Army spokesman said: “The actions of this rifleman, who took a bullet to save the life of a child, show the difference between British courage and Taliban evil.”