UK Soldiers Repatriated From Afghanistan

6:33pm UK, Tuesday March 20, 2012

The bodies of six fallen British heroes who died in Afghanistan have been returned to the UK.
A private service to honour the comrades, who died while on patrol two weeks ago, was being held at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.
As the unit the men served with continued to take the fight to Taliban insurgents, service personnel and members of the public gathered at a memorial garden in Carterton, near Brize Norton, to pay tribute to their sacrifice.

The six died earlier this month when their Warrior Armoured Fighting Vehicle was hit by an explosion on the border of Helmand and Kandahar, near the town of Lashkar Gah.

The vehicle was struck by what has been described as a recently-planted and very powerful Taliban bomb.

Five of the soldiers were from 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment: Corporal Jake Hartley, 20; Private Anthony Frampton, 20; Private Christopher Kershaw, 19; Private Daniel Wade, 20; and Private Daniel Wilford, 21.

The sixth, from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was Sergeant Nigel Coupe, aged 33. He was on secondment at the time.

The deaths were the single biggest loss of British life in Afghanistan since 2006 and took the total number of British military deaths in the country since 2001 to over 400.

Hundreds of people attended memorial services honouring the six, where lines from Wilfred Owen's Anthem For Doomed Youth were spoken.

As the bodies were repatriated, the MoD confirmed that members of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment were part of a 1,000-strong British force which supported an Afghan-led operation to clear a Taliban heartland around Gereshk over the weekend.

They played a key role in supporting patrols by the Afghan National Civil Order Police as they prevented suspected insurgents fleeing the area.

Lieutenant Colonel Dan Bradbury, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, said: "Despite the losses the regiment has suffered, it comes as no surprise to me that 3 Yorks continue to conduct themselves with professionalism on operations.

"It is a real testament to the character of our soldiers that they are determined to carry on the mission and take the fight to insurgents."
..................................................................................................................................
Carterton was a very sad place to be today.

I can't imagine how their families must feel, Maggs, it's so sad.

bb1 wrote:I can't imagine how their families must feel, Maggs, it's so sad.

I know Bonny, its bad enough having someone in the forces, without this kind of thing happening
I also feel for the men/women on the Base who have to take part in these repatriations too, as part of their job.