Lyneham mourns worst loss in 30 years
www.timesonline.co.uk
THE powder-blue flag of the air force hung at half-mast yesterday at RAF Lyneham as Geoff Hoon, the Defence Secretary, confirmed that nine RAF personnel and one soldier died in the crash of a Hercules aircraft in Iraq.

The Wiltshire base has been the home of the Hercules since the air force’s workhorses were first deployed there in 1976. This was its worst loss. Well wishers arrived at the gates to leave flowers in memory of those who died.

A message on one bunch of tulips read: “My best friend and his brave crewmate. I love you and will always remember your laughter. Craig, Martine and Sophie.” Another said: “To all the Hercules crew from a mother, family and friend of a serving member of 47 Air Dispatch.” The identities of most of the dead men were not being released until all their families had been informed.

The only one named was Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, the first Australian to be killed in Iraq. The 35-year-old father of three, a navigator with the RAF, had been living in England for the past three years. His widow, Kellie, said at her home opposite the entrance of the base: “We are still in shock. I really can’t talk about it at the moment. It is far too early.”

The deaths shocked the close-knit community where most people have some connection to the base. Jenny Jardine, a parish councillor, said: “Our hearts bleed for the families involved. They were our first thought. The whole village will share in the grief. The base and the village are very much one community.”