Draft:Taff Groves

Early life and military career

Taff Groves a former Special Air Service personnel and a key rescuer in the 2013 September Westgate Mall Attack, was born in Cardiff, Wales and grew up in the Ely and Cathays areas.

At 19, he joined the Royal Regiment of Wales. In 1985, Groves passed the United Kingdom (UK) Special Forces selection on his first attempt and was attached to the Special Air Service (SAS) serving in 'B' Squadron 22 SAS and in L Detachment Reserves. His military career spanned over 30 years, primarily within UK Special Forces.

Westgate shopping mall attack

Groves (far right) discussing with a Kenyan Law enforcement commander, rescue arrangements. Westgate Mall Terrorist attack, 2013.

On 21 September 2013, Groves was visiting Nairobi, Kenya, from the UK in his civilian capacity as an international security advisor for a logistic company. On this day, the Westgate Shopping Mall terrorist attack occurred.

The assault, carried out by Al-Shabaab militants, resulted in 67 deaths and over 200 injuries.[1] Groves and his East African country manager, Lorcan Byrne an ex Irish Ranger Tier 1 who was based in Nairobi, responded to the incident unarmed.

Amongst the first responders to the scene, Groves and Byrne coordinated the evacuation of civilians,[2] guiding dozens to safety from hiding places, including the mall's loading area, underground car parks, the Java Café and the worst hit area of the rooftop car park. The militants had launched their attack during a children's cooking competition held in that area.

It was a chaotic and urgent scene, multiple shots had been fired and grenades detonated, one of which caused a competition gas canister to explode, scattering shrapnel.

At this point, witnesses confirm that Groves and Byrne (Byrne was now armed) split up for separate rescue missions. Groves remained as the lone responder within the rooftop area. Local radio host Sadia Ahmed recalls a white man (subsequently identified as Groves) in a checked shirt who appeared and attempted to persuade the walking wounded to leave the deceased and follow him.[3]

Groves systematically covered the deceased with red tablecloths from the cooking competition. Witnesses reported that he repeatedly paired the injured with the uninjured and escorted them over the low wall into the Java café and to the emergency stairwell.

These included Elaine Dang [4] [5] and some were so severely injured that they needed to be carried by Groves. All the while close range shots and explosions could be heard and still the unexploded grenade lay nearby.

Later in the afternoon, outside in-between evacuations, Groves was then seen to approach a police commander and a Kenyan army general who had arrived. He was recorded in media coverage shown during the day discussing rescue arrangements and urgently asking for medical assistance. Footage of this was later included in the documentary Terror at the Mall.

Groves’ identity and true involvement remained undisclosed until the 10th anniversary of the attack in 2023. Some of those he had saved from the rooftop area had traced him, and finally persuaded him to publicly share his account. Subsequently, his and Byrne's actions were widely praised in the media for their bravery and humanitarian impact during one of Kenya's deadliest terror attacks.[6]