Lyneham pays tribute to fallen five
16th June 2008
Residents of Lyneham paid their respects as the parishioners saw the repatriation of five fallen soldiers. The bodies of five British soldiers from one Essex Regiment, who were killed in Afghanistan, have been flown to Wiltshire's air base RAF Lyneham, by a gigantic Globemaster C17 for a poignant repatriation ceremony.

The men, all from 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, which is based in Colchester, Essex, died in two separate incidents in Helmand within a week. Private's Nathan Cuthbertson, David Murray and Daniel Gamble died in a suicide bombing. Lance Corporal James Bateman and Private Jeff Doherty died under Taleban fire.

Their deaths took the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since November 2001 to 102. Lance Corporal Bateman and Private Doherty were patrolling on foot near their base in Helmand Province when they came under fire on Thursday.

Private's Cuthbertson, Murray and Gamble were also on foot patrol, on Sunday 8th June, when they were targeted by a single suicide bomber.

On Friday the garrison town of Colchester paid tribute to the five dead. Para's from the 2nd Battalion marched through the town's High Street to applause from watching shoppers, crowds gathered outside the town hall and held a two-minute silence, while a Union flag flew at half-mast.

But this was no celebration. Britain's oldest recorded town, a roman fortress, came to a standstill, as our current generation of brave heroes, were being remembered. This garrison town is in mourning after the regiment which calls the town its home suffered its worst single week since the Falklands war.

As a bugler played The Last Post from the balcony of the town hall, the bustle of the high street came to an abrupt halt. Army officials were joined by local dignitaries and members of the public to observe a minute's silence. Many people were in tears.

To lose five of our own soldiers in as many days is just devastating. Lyneham village residents who regularly witness the repatriation corteges passing through the main village road, have never experienced such a large community turn out, business owners, current and retired servicemen and women, young and old, generations of Lyneham residents wanting to pay their courteous act.

As villagers waited in the high street, chatting among themselves, reflecting on the great loss to the country of five brave servicemen who have paid the ultimate price, serving for their Queen and country. Time and time again, many could not come to terms on how young the latest victims were.

A resident from Chippenham Road Lyneham said "To wait 19 minutes is well worth every minute, one minute for every year in the life of two of the fallen, it is a priceless tribute and I think this is the least I could do for those young boys. I really feel for the families, friends and their loved ones. Its so tragic and a waste of true talent."

The village came out in numbers to route line their own guard of honour. Many gathered outside Heather, Moor and Edgecomb Ltd joining the regular staff members, who do not hesitate to pay their own respects to the frequent repatriation ceremonies. Many residents lined the village high street right up to the village hall as the five fallen heroes were escorted by Police to Wootton Bassett and on to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxfordshire

One hundred and two British lives lost in Afghanistan - a grim milestone that will lead many in Britain to ask: is the mission worth this cost in lives, and does the UK - and Nato - have the right strategy in Afghanistan, and will it stay the course? With some four million bullets fired by British forces in one year alone, and almost £2bn spent on Afghanistan since 2001, those questions are becoming more urgent.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the Ministry of Defence, has untimely announced extra troops are to be sent into theatre to support the Afghanistan unrest, bringing numbers to their highest level yet. The increase would bring overall UK numbers in Afghanistan to more than 8,000 - mostly based in Helmand.

Britain deployed troops to Afghanistan shortly after the attacks of 11 September, 2001. Few then thought that British forces would still be in Afghanistan in far larger numbers seven years on, nor that they would be involved in some of the fiercest fighting British forces have seen in decades.

If the British people think there is a point to the current operations in Afghanistan, then the figure of 102 deaths ... is sustainable.

"Nothing can ever compensate for the loss felt by the loved ones and to them all we extend our deepest sympathies."