14 heroes return home

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Oct 9, 2004
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Dead Nimrod heroes return


September 12, 2006





THE bodies of 14 servicemen killed in a Nimrod crash in Afghanistan were returned to Britain today.

The Duke of Edinburgh, air force chiefs and senior politicians joined the families of the dead airmen for a repatriation ceremony at RAF Kinloss in Moray.

Twelve of the men who died were based at 120 Squadron at the station, which is home to the UK’s Nimrod fleet.

A Royal Marine and an Army soldier on board the plane also lost their lives in the crash last week, which is thought to have been caused by a technical fault.

The ceremony was attended by Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence.

Mr Browne said: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those killed in this tragic crash.

“They were outstanding, brave and dedicated men. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

“They were working towards making Afghanistan a safe and secure place as well as protecting our nation and its interests.

“We owe them an enormous debt of gratitude for that.”

Air Chief Marshal Stirrup added: “Our servicemen and women achieve remarkable things under the most arduous and dangerous conditions - sometimes, alas, at personal sacrifice.

“Their bravery is well known and rightly admired.

“But we must never forget what their loved ones have to endure. The worry and uncertainty they must live with while continuing to run homes and families and - as in this case - the terrible loss.

“Theirs is a courage of the most profound kind.”

An RAF spokesman said they had created a Chapel of Rest at the station where the 14 coffins would be laid out.

He added that the families would be taken there this afternoon to spend some private time with their loved ones.

The RAF personnel who died were Flight Lieutenants Allan Squires, 39, from Clatterbridge, Merseyside, Steven Johnson, 38, from Collingham, Nottinghamshire, Gareth Nicholas, 40, from Redruth, Cornwall, Steven Swarbrick, 28, from Liverpool, and Leigh Mitchelmore, 28, from Bournemouth, Dorset, Flight Sergeants Adrian Davies, 49, from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Gary Wayne Andrews, 48, from Tankerton, Kent, Gerard Bell, 48, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, and Stephen Beattie, 42, from Dundee, and Sergeants Gary Paul Quilliam, 42, from Manchester, Ben Knight, 25, from Bridgewater and John Langton, 29, from Liverpool.

In a ceremony which took almost an hour, senior officers saluted as each coffin was brought from the plane.

To the strains of Elgar’s Nimrod they were taken one by one by the bearer parties from the C-17 transport plane and placed in waiting hearses.

The C17carrying the men’s bodies had landed at 11.50am.

It had left Afghanistan following a brief sunset ceremony and stopped at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire before heading north.



The RAF C17 transport aircraft bearing the 14 bodies of servicemen killed when an RAF Nimrod crashed in Afghanistan comes in to land above a fleet of Nimrods at RAF Kinloss.
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The bearer parties march past a Nimrod at the Moray base.
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The coffin containing Joseph Windall of the Royal Marines is carried from the transport aircraft.
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Prince Philip (left) arrives at the ceremony, accompanied by Kinloss Station Commander Group Captain Chris Birks.
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Defence Secretary Des Browne arrives for the ceremony.


news.bbc.co.uk