Earlier today [19.45] I saw the cortiege of the seven recent casualties in the A419 as they went past me . What was really sad was that about a minute before a brand new Mastiff was on the back of a low-loader still with bits of it wrapped in plastic went past too. Four of the dead I saw today had died in one last week. It just seemed odd seeing that new vehicle just moments before seing the cortiege.
Some good news, congrats to Sergeant Turrall, Capt Tresham Gregg, and Cpl Paul Mather BBC News - Three soldiers receive Military Cross for gallantry "I felt good about myself that I have done something. It made me think about home and obviously my children." That was how a soldier from the Irish Guards felt after rescuing four children and an old man from a fire fight in Afghanistan. Sergeant Matthew Turrall will pick up his Military Cross on Friday, 2 July at Buckingham Palace. BBC - Soldier tells of picking up Military Cross BBC News - Military honours for serving in Afghanistan and Iraq
Dead Military Cross hero stayed behind to help fresh troops - Telegraph The first holder of the Military Cross to be killed in action since the Second World War died in Afghanistan after he volunteered to stay on at his base to pass on local knowledge to incoming troops.
I was behind these chaps today all the way from Dorcan, up the A419 then up the A420 until Botley Roundabout. Marine Adam Brown Age 25 40 Commando Royal Marines Lance Sergeant Dale Alanzo McCallum Age 31 1st Battalion Scots Guards Took this near Kingston Bagpuize as they slowed right down to take a salute.
British Army engineer flown home today (From Swindon Advertiser) The body of a British Army engineer who was killed by a Taliban roadside bomb while working alongside special forces in Afghanistan is due to fly into RAF Lyneham today. A private service will be held at the base's chapel for Corporal Matthew Thomas, of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, before the cortege passes through Wootton Bassett at about 3pm. Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Corporal Matthew Thomas killed in Afghanistan Corporal Matthew Thomas of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Rifleman Suraj Gurung killed in Afghanistan It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Rifleman Suraj Gurung from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 2 October 2010.
RIP Rifleman Always been interested in the Gurkhas and met a few veterans in Tonbridge earlier this year - always cheerful and friendly but fearsome fighters for a foreign country. I'm with Lumley on this - Gurkha vets deserve every respect and opportunity in this country, they have done more for the nation than most who live here. Mike
Get out there, just like we Dutch have to leave it! and come back home What would have happened to Holland if the Canadians had pulled out of WW2 after Dieppe?
BBC News - Soldier dies in Afghanistan blast A soldier from 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment has been killed by an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence says. The soldier, from County Londonderry, died when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was on patrol in Nad-e Ali, Helmand province. His death, on Remembrance Day as troops honoured fallen comrades, raises the toll in Afghanistan since 2001 to 344. The soldier's family has been informed, the ministry said. Spokesman for Task Force Helmand, Lt Col David Eastman, said: "On this day of all days, his loss feels especially poignant and, as with all of our brave, fallen comrades, will be forever marked in our thoughts; he will be sorely missed." Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson said he was deeply moved and saddened: "This death brings home the reality of war. Remembrance Sunday is not about the past, it's about the present. "It's about the family in Northern Ireland who are now grieving the loss of their boy. I extend my deepest sympathies to them." Prince William, in his second visit to Afghanistan, attended Sunday's Remembrance Day ceremony at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, where he laid a wreath at the camp's memorial. About 2,500 service personnel joined him for the event. RIP BBC News - UK soldier killed in Afghanistan named A Northern Ireland soldier killed in Afghanistan on Remembrance Sunday has been named as Ranger Aaron McCormick of the Royal Irish Regiment. The 22-year-old, from County Londonderry, was helping to clear roadside bombs in the Nad-e Ali area of Helmand when he was caught in a blast. Colleagues called him the "epitome of the Irish infantry soldier". His death came as Prince William flew into Afghanistan with Defence Secretary Liam Fox for a remembrance service. It was Ranger McCormick's second tour of duty in Afghanistan, where he was involved in detecting mines. Lt Col Colin Weir, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Irish Regiment, said: "Ranger Aaron McCormick was the epitome of the Irish infantry soldier - tough, selfless, good-humoured and full of compassion." He said his death had left a gap in his ranks "no ordinary man could fill". "This place is already better for Aaron having been here. We will now build on his good work with renewed determination to win," he added.
BBC News - UK soldier killed in Afghanistan A soldier from 1st Battalion Irish Guards has been killed in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has announced. The soldier's next of kin have been informed. It takes the number of UK servicemen and women to have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 345. It comes after Ranger Aaron McCormick of the Royal Irish Regiment, was killed on Remembrance Sunday in a blast as he worked to clear roadside bombs. Ministry of Defence | Fact Sheets | Operations Factsheets | Operations in Afghanistan: British Fatalities A soldier from 1st Battalion Irish Guards serving with Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (North) was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday 17th November 2010. The soldier died as a result of a gun shot wound sustained in an ambush whilst patrolling in the Nahr-e Saraj (North) district of Helmand Province. Quis Separabit.
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Guardsman Christopher Davies killed in Afghanistan BBC News - Soldier killed in Afghanistan ambush named A soldier from 1st Battalion Irish Guards killed in Afghanistan earlier this week has been named. Guardsman Christopher Davies, 22, was shot in an ambush while patrolling in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province. His death, while mentoring an Afghan National Army patrol, was the 100th in Afghanistan this year.
Ministry of Defence | Defence News | Military Operations | Corporal Steven Thomas Dunn killed in Afghanistan It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal Steven Thomas Dunn from 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron, attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment Battlegroup, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, 21 December 2010.
December 18, 2010: Canadian soldier killed in Kandahar bomb blast A Canadian soldier was killed when an improvised bomb exploded next to his patrol in the Panjwaii district of Kandahar. Corporal Steve Martin Cpl. Steve Martin, 24, of the Royal 22e Regiment, was just two days short of his 25th birthday when he died. Governor General David Johnston issued a statement offering his deepest sympathies to Cpl. Martin's loved ones. 'Cpl. Martin displayed an admirable sense of duty to Canada, bringing great pride to his unit and to the Forces as a whole,' he wrote. Total: 154 Deaths Since the start of Canadian military activities in Afghanistan, 154 Canadian soldiers have lost their lives. A Canadian diplomat, two Canadian aid workers and a Canadian journalist have also been killed over the course of the insurgency.
Bizarre thought but I wonder which Sqauddie that is alive now will be the last one through Bassett come the autumn. BBC News - Wootton Bassett to lose UK military repatriation route Hearses carrying the bodies of UK military personnel killed overseas will, from autumn, no longer travel through Wootton Bassett.
I don't live there and I'm definately not taking anything away from Wooten Bassett for what they originally did. The residents can be rightly proud of what they did but in a way I'm kind of glad to see this happening. To me it seems to have turned into a bit of a media circus over the last 12 montrhs with random people turning up so they can claim some kind of a badge of having been there. And don't get me started on the clapping. Good decision in my book - I just hope it just isn't being moved to another village. A
Tue, 04 Jan 2011 02:48:00 +1000 The first British Army soldier killed in Afghanistan this year has been indentified as a Fijian man who played for the army's rugby union sevens team. The Ministry of Defence says 24 year old Private Joseva Vatubua was killed on New Year's Day by an improvised explosive device as he targeted enemy firing positions in southern Helmand province. Born in Suva, he joined the British Army in 2007. Private Vatubua leaves behind his wife Claudette. British Defence Secretary Liam Fox says his thoughts are with the Fijian community. ABC Radio Australia News