~*Belle 2003*~
<font color=navy>I used to be indecisive, but now
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2003
- Messages
- 5,299
It was heartbreaking to watch on TV this morning. 
May you all R.I.P and thank you.
The bodies of the first UK servicemen to die in the Iraq conflict have arrived back in Britain.
Captain Philip Guy
Warrant Officer Mark Stratford
Major Jason Ward
Marine Sholto Hedenskog
Sergeant John Cecil
Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Evans
Sergeant Les Hehir
Operator Mechanic Ian Seymour
Flight Lt Kevin Main
Flight Lt Dave Williams
Ten coffins draped in flags were flown into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where their families and senior military officials had gathered for a repatriation ceremony.
It comes as anti-war protesters again prepare to take to the streets across the UK, and the first march in support of troops is staged by armed forces families.
At Brize Norton, each coffin, draped with either the Union flag or one chosen by the families, was carried off a C-17 transport aircraft by six pall-bearers.
Eight of the dead were killed when the US Sea Knight helicopter they were aboard crashed south of the Kuwait border. The other two bodies are those of the crew of the RAF GR4 Tornado aircraft from RAF Marham, Norfolk, shot down near the Kuwaiti border by a Patriot missile battery.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, attended the ceremony along with senior military officials.
As the aircraft came to a standstill, rear cargo doors opened and a member of the Welsh Guards took position behind the plane.
Three senior armed forces chaplains were then led across to the rear of the aircraft to await the coffins.
A band from the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade, marched out from behind the terminal, leading the coffin-bearing party.
As the band began playing a sombre composition by Handel, the first of the coffins was brought out - that of Royal Navy mechanic Ian Seymour.
The six pall-bearers, from HMS Collingwood in Portsmouth, marched with the coffin on their shoulders to a waiting hearse, escorted by a senior naval officer.
May you all R.I.P and thank you.
The bodies of the first UK servicemen to die in the Iraq conflict have arrived back in Britain.
Captain Philip Guy
Warrant Officer Mark Stratford
Major Jason Ward
Marine Sholto Hedenskog
Sergeant John Cecil
Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Evans
Sergeant Les Hehir
Operator Mechanic Ian Seymour
Flight Lt Kevin Main
Flight Lt Dave Williams
Ten coffins draped in flags were flown into RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where their families and senior military officials had gathered for a repatriation ceremony.
It comes as anti-war protesters again prepare to take to the streets across the UK, and the first march in support of troops is staged by armed forces families.
At Brize Norton, each coffin, draped with either the Union flag or one chosen by the families, was carried off a C-17 transport aircraft by six pall-bearers.
Eight of the dead were killed when the US Sea Knight helicopter they were aboard crashed south of the Kuwait border. The other two bodies are those of the crew of the RAF GR4 Tornado aircraft from RAF Marham, Norfolk, shot down near the Kuwaiti border by a Patriot missile battery.
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, attended the ceremony along with senior military officials.
As the aircraft came to a standstill, rear cargo doors opened and a member of the Welsh Guards took position behind the plane.
Three senior armed forces chaplains were then led across to the rear of the aircraft to await the coffins.
A band from the Royal Marines 3 Commando Brigade, marched out from behind the terminal, leading the coffin-bearing party.
As the band began playing a sombre composition by Handel, the first of the coffins was brought out - that of Royal Navy mechanic Ian Seymour.
The six pall-bearers, from HMS Collingwood in Portsmouth, marched with the coffin on their shoulders to a waiting hearse, escorted by a senior naval officer.
