One Lady's Tribute - Picture Courtesy Evening Advertiser 2005

Lyneham has been devastated by the news that one of its Hercules aircraft crashed in Iraq. Evening Advertiser Monday 31st January 2005 pg 4 www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk THERE was anger as well as sorrow in the streets of Lyneham today as it emerged that an Iraqi militant group has claimed it shot down the Lyneham-based Hercules. Established after the 9/11, attacks, Ansar al-Islam is one of Iraq's older extremist groups and has been linked to al-Qaida. Flags flew at half-mast and flowers were laid to remember the crew and soldiers who have died, and the church remains open for prayers all day. And the heartache is not confined to the base.

The entire village is in sombre mood, with thoughts turning to the families left bereaved. One parish councillor captured the feeling when she said: "Our hearts bleed for the families involved. They were our first thought."

Prayers were said in Lyneham this morning for the dead servicemen and their families. St Michael's Church was packed with well-wishers wanting to pay their respects. The Rev Anthony Fletcher ­ a former RAF Chaplain at the airbase ­ led the prayers and lit a special candle normally reserved for Easter.

He said: "We are all still in a state of shock. It's the responsibility of everyone in the village to pull together and help people come to terms with this tragedy."

Meanwhile, the headteacher of Lyneham Infants' School paid tribute to the men who had lost their lives. Cathy Stanford said: "At this extremely difficult time our thoughts are with the families of all those affected by this tragedy. "All of us at Lyneham Infants' and Junior schools will do everything we possibly can to provide a caring environment which will offer support to the whole community in whatever way necessary." Many parents of pupils at the Preston Lane school have connections with the airbase.

Cllr Malcolm Petch, chairman of Lyneham Parish Council, said that a letter of condolence would be sent to the station commander. "Lyneham is a very close-knit community ­ it always has been ­ and it has reacted badly to this tragedy," he said. "Many villagers have links with the camp ­ either through themselves or through family members. It's very sad that the insurgents had to resort to such measures."

"Hercules are very safe aircraft and so we all suspected that this one was shot down." Parish councillor, Jenny Jardine, said: "Our hearts bleed for the families involved. They were our first thought. "The whole village will share in the grief. It's very much one community, the base and the village."

James Gray MP for North Wilts said: "Our prime concern is obviously about the community as a whole. Everyone knows someone serving on the base. And the people who died could be anyone's dad or husband. "Some people might take this opportunity to say that we shouldn't have gone to war in Iraq and that we should pull out now, but I believe we should stay there and finish the job. Yesterday we saw some success in the region with 60 per cent of Iraqis going out to vote in the elections.

"Perhaps the families of those who have died may take a little comfort in that they have helped those people achieve democracy."

The Ministry of Defence said that nine RAF crew and a soldier died in the crash at 2.30pm yesterday our time. The first victim's name to be released Australian, Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, 35, a father of three from Victoria state who has joint British and Australian citizenship. His father, John, 78, from Melbourne, said that British High Commission officials rang to tell him and his wife Margaret of their son's death.

"Nobody really knows what's happened," Mr Pardoel said. "I spoke to his group captain at the British High Commission, who happens to know him, and he said it's a pity, he is a nice, upstanding young man." Paul Pardoel formerly served in the Royal Australian Air Force but was serving with the RAF at the time of his death. The Australian Defence Force announced the death in a statement.

Investigators are at the crash site today, which has been secured by British and US forces. Wreckage was spread over a large area. The aircraft ­ one of six deployed to Iraq ­ was travelling from Baghdad to Balad, which north-west of the capital and home to a large US airbase. Wreckage was spread over a large area.

The disaster came on the first day of Iraqi elections ­ a historic event Mr Blair said could not have happened without troops such as these. "Without them there could have been no election," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the soldiers lost. They can be so proud of what their loved ones accomplished."

Swindon Advertiser (formerly The Evening Advertiser) www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk With thanks to Tamasl Lal, Gareth Bethell, Martin Vincent and Anthony Osborne Local daily evening newspaper, serving across the county. The Evening Advertiser is Swindon's leading regional daily newspaper. Published Monday to Saturday this newspaper has been at the heart of Swindon ever since 1854. Although Swindon has changed considerably, the Evening Advertiser has remained constantly popular with both readers and advertisers alike. The Evening Advertiser boasts extensive guides on Property, Motors, Entertainment and Jobs on different days of the week and is the only local Daily Evening paper in the Swindon area.

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