Repatriation of a legend - Corporal Jamie Kirkpatrick
The widow of an Army bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan wept as she placed a single rose on his hearse today when his body was brought back to the UK.
Corporal Jamie Kirkpatrick, 32, of 101 Engineer Regiment, was the 20th member of UK forces to die last month in the Afghan campaign.
-
Tears for a hero: Heidi Kirkpatrick, the wife of Corporal Jamie Kirkpatrick, 32, of 101 Engineer Regiment, looks on as the coffin of her husband is driven along the High Street at Wootton Bassett
His body was flown into RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire for a private repatriation ceremony before being driven past around 200 mourners who lined the high street in nearby Wootton Bassett.
His widow Heidi broke with tradition and wore a vibrant pink dress as the best man at their wedding, Gavin John, comforted her.
He said: “Jamie was a fantastic guy, fun-loving, always the life of the party and he will be sorely missed by his friends and family gathered here today.
“He was just a legend.”
The body of a Royal Marine understood to be a member of the Special Boat Service (SBS) was also repatriated.
The marine, who has not been named at his family’s request, died in southern Afghanistan on Thursday.
No images were released of his coffin being unloaded from the aircraft at RAF Lyneham and he was not driven through Wootton Bassett along with Cpl Kirkpatrick.
The market town has become the focus for the nation to mourn the deaths of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Crowds have appeared along the route to pay their respects since the bodies of British service personnel began being brought home through RAF Lyneham in April 2007.
Cpl Kirkpatrick, who was born in Edinburgh and lived in Llanelli, South Wales, died in a fight with insurgents in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on June 27.
The soldier, known to his friends as “KP”, and Heidi have a 16-month-old daughter Holly.
Billy White, of the Royal School of Military Engineering, where Cpl Kirkpatrick was a Corporal instructor based in Chatham, said: “He was full of life, full of beans, the natural joker of the crew, a very professional guy, rugby player and he stood out in a crowd, full of fun.
“Just a brilliant instructor and a good guy all round.
“Someone you can have a giggle and a laugh with and who would always find the fun in the strangest of situations.”
A total of 311 British servicemen and women have died since the start of operations in Afghanistan in 2001.
Comments
by trncjack, turkish rep northern cyprus
Tuesday, July 06 2010, 8:29PM
“and another young man gives his life for what,another wife has lost her husband , and children have lost thier father, ask yourself FOR WHAT , AND ASK YOURSELF HOW MANY OF OUR MPS HAVE A SON IN THE ARMED FORCES , and you will get the answer NONE,”