Widow's message to wonderful husband
Gazette & Herald
31st March 2005 pg 7
www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk

As Chippenham prepares for the funeral of RAF Lyneham hero Corporal David Williams, [pictured second from right] his widow Kathryn has paid tribute to a "caring and compassionate" man. Cpl Williams, 37, will be honoured with a full military funeral at St Andrew's Church tomorrow morning, which will be followed by a low-level Hercules flypast. A survival equipment fitter with the RAF engineering wing, he died in January's Hercules tragedy in Iraq. Cpl Williams is the first of the ten men who died to be laid to rest. The funerals of three other Lyneham heroes Gary Nicholson, Mark Gibson and Robert O'Connor will be held in the next few days.

This week Mrs Williams, who lives in Parliament Street with their three children Jack, Harry and Oliver, said: "We would love to thank everyone for all the lovely flowers, cards and kind gestures we have received from so many people, which we found totally overwhelming.

"Dave was a wonderful and devoted husband and daddy. We had nine special years together and have three beautiful boys. The memories we share will be with us forever in our hearts and in our minds, though our lives will never be the same.

"Dave was born in Dumfries and was the only child of David and Evelyn Williams who live in Eyemouth, Scotland. He was always proud to show us his home, and we have many happy memories of holidays with his family there. His love of Eyemouth was shown through his dedication to the lifeboats and their crew.

"He was a caring and compassionate man, with a great sense of humour and was loved and respected by everyone who knew him. He was in the RAF for 17 years and will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues all over the country."

She added: "Though his smile has gone forever and his hand we cannot touch, we shall never lose sweet memories of the one we loved so much."

Hundreds of friends and family are expected at the funeral, which will be followed by a ceremony at Semington Crematorium. The service will be jointly conducted by Rev Simon Tatton-Brown, of St Andrew's Church, and RAF Lyneham Padre David Edgar. Canon Tony Fensome, vicar of St Peter's Church, will also be present, as the family live in his parish.

Wing commander Simon Brailsford and wing commander Carolyn Gill will be the official representatives from RAF Lyneham. Station commander Paul Oborn will not be present as he is attending the funeral of Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, which is being held at the same time in Wanborough.

A full military funeral means Cpl Williams' coffin will be draped in the Union Jack flag and any pall bearers from the RAF will be in full uniform. Family, friends and colleagues will congregate outside the church at midday for the Hercules flypast by Cpl Williams' colleagues from the Hercules Operational Evaluation Unit.

The funeral of Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson is being held in Lydiard Tregoz on Monday and Sergeant Robert O'Connor's will take place in Staffordshire next week. Hundreds of friends, family and servicemen are expected to gather to pay their final respects to the two Swindon crewmen killed when their Hercules came down in Iraq on January 30. He leaves his wife Sheila and seven-year-old daughter Poppy, his father and two younger brothers Neil, also a load master in the RAF, and Paul. Flight Sergeant Gibson enjoyed golf and often played at the Wrag Barn Golf Club in Highworth as a member of the Lyneham Golf Society.

The funeral of Master Engineer Nicholson, 42, of Griffiths Close, Stratton St Margaret will take place tomorrow afternoon at St. Andrew's Church in Wanborough. Known to friends as Gary Nic, he leaves two sons, Adrian and Stuart, and partner, Rachel. Many fellow runners from the North Wiltshire Hash House Harriers will be attending the service as well as fellow players from Swindon Rugby Football Club and Swindon College Old Boys Rugby Club ­ of which keen sportsman Master Engineer Nicholson had been a member. Tony Brant, 40, of Bowood Road, spent several seasons playing alongside the prop and expects many from the rugby community to turnout. He said: "It will be quite a bad day but we will try and have a bit of fun afterwards and have a few drinks because that's what Gary would have wanted."

The funeral of Sergeant Robert O'Connor, 38, of Lyneham, will also take place next week in Staffordshire. Sergeant O'Connor founded the Swindon branch of the Youth (ten-pin) Bowling Club in 1990 with his partner Col Knight who he was due to be marrying on his return from Iraq. Chief instructor at the club Dave Arthur said: "He had the patience of a saint and was an absolute diamond."

Flight Lieutenant Andrew Smith's funeral takes place in Donchaster on Tuesday, April 5 and Flight Lieutenant David Stead's funeral will take place in Ilkley, Yorkshire on Friday, April 8.

The funeral of victim Chief Technician Richard Brown, one of the ten men who died in the RAF Hercules crash in Iraq on January 30 , will be held at 10am on April 11 at Westerleigh Crematorium. near Bristol. All the funerals will include flypasts. Representatives from RAF Lyneham will be in attendance. A memorial service for Mr Brown will be held later that day at 2.30pm at St Mary's Church in Tetbury.

The funeral of Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall took place yesterday in Lincolnshire and included a flypast by an aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth.