The first British women to die in action was Cpl Sarah Bryant, 26, from Cumbria, in June 2008.

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In part it is because old habits die hard, even in the heat of military action in Libya.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

The Purple Heart is bestowed upon a service member or U.S. civilian serving under the military's authority who "has been wounded, killed, or who has died or may hereafter die of wounds received" while in action against an enemy or in a terrorist attack, according to the Pentagon's Manual of Military Awards.

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He told jurors that neither officer was accused of being responsible for his death, but "having detained him following a struggle, each neglected his duty, each failed to take reasonable and proper care of him and, through that neglect, though plainly not with that intention, allowed him to die in front of them without taking action to seek to prevent it".

BBC: Pc Neil Bowdery (left) and Pc Maurice Leigh

Fourth place was claimed by A Good Day to Die Hard, the fifth instalment in Bruce Willis's 25-year-old action franchise.

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