Soldiers killed in Afghanistan repatriated to UK

The bodies of three British soldiers killed in Helmand, Afghanistan, have arrived back in the UK.

Cpl Johnathan Moore, 22, from Lanarkshire, and Pte Sean McDonald, 26, who went to school in Edinburgh, died in an explosion near Sangin on Sunday.

Warrant Officer Class 2 David Markland, from Euxton, Lancs, died in a blast in the Nad Ali district on Monday.

The men's bodies were repatriated to RAF Lyneham before passing through nearby Wootton Bassett.

WO2 Markland's widow, Corallee and her two sons Keelen, aged 10, and Logan, seven, stood proudly among the crowds gathered on the streets of the town to pay tribute to her husband and the two other soldiers.

The family had earlier attended a private ceremony for the three men in the chapel at RAF Lyneham.

WO2 David Markland was killed in an IED blast

Cpl Moore, who was born in Bellshill and grew up in Hamilton, and Pte McDonald, who was born in Toronto but educated in Edinburgh, served with the Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

They died while on a routine night patrol when a roadside bomb went off.

Pte McDonald leaves wife Jennifer, mother Jacqueline, brother Darryle and sister Ceilidh.

Cpl Moore's family said: "Johnathan was a proud Scottish soldier who was doing a job that he loved."

WO2 Markland was a bomb disposal expert with 20 years Army experience and was serving with the 36 Engineer Regiment, part of the Counter-IED Task Force.

He had been leading a team clearing routes of improvised explosive devices when he was killed.

He was on his eighth operational tour, having previously served in Bosnia and Iraq.

A total of 256 British personnel have died in Afghanistan since 2001.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version