Soldiers' memorial to be 'place to reflect'

A former soldier who has led a fundraising drive for a lasting memorial to three comrades killed in Iraq says he wants it to be a special place for the community to "pause and reflect".

Pte Leon Spicer, 26, Pte Phillip Hewett, 21, both of Tamworth, Staffordshire, and 2nd Lt Richard Shearer, 26, of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, were killed by a roadside bomb in Al Amarah, in July 2005.

Anthony Frith, who was on patrol with them and survived the explosion, said about £50,000 had been raised for a bronze memorial that will be unveiled in the grounds of Tamworth Castle, on 11 April.

"It's been worth the work as I wanted to do this for the families and the three lads," he said.

Frith, 42, from Tamworth, now lives in Atherstone, Warwickshire, and has been working on the project in between family life and his job as a freelance construction site manager.

He served with the soldiers in the Staffordshire Regiment, one of three historic regiments merged to form the Mercian Regiment at a ceremony at Tamworth Castle in 2007.

It meant the ground was the "last place" the Staffordshire Regiment stood as a unit, said Frith, also aged 21 when the explosion happened.

"With Tamworth being the former capital of Mercia, it's a poignant place where families can pause, reflect, and remember their loved ones - not just families, but former colleagues, friends, and the community in general," he said.

He added this included veterans from the regiment living in the town.

The memorial is being created by artist and sculptor Johanna Domke-Guyot, who made the 'Victory over Blindness' statue for Blind Veterans UK in Manchester.

Standing outside Manchester Piccadilly station, the statue depicts seven blinded soldiers leading one another away from the World War One battlefield.

Domke-Guyot, who worked on that project for five years, said she chooses work based on what she cared deeply about and felt "a connection" with.

The three soldiers' deaths in Iraq were "so sad", she said, adding that on meeting Frith she was also moved by his commitment to the memorial project he started alone.

"I couldn't help but feel passionate about it too," she said.

The memorial to be unveiled in Tamworth is called Oaths Taken, Oaths Fulfilled.

It stands 91cm (3ft) tall, but will be taller when it is placed on a plinth on top of the Mercian Formation Bench, Frith explained.

It will also include a QR code directed to a website about the three soldiers, telling the stories "of local people who gave their lives for their country", he said.

The design incorporates elements of the former regiment's badge, such as the Staffordshire knot, as part of a powerful image "remembering the lads", said Domke-Guyot.

It includes three bayonets "representing their lives lost", while three feathers "rising" from the crown, symbolise "regeneration", she added.

"Normally I would do figurative work, but I wanted to represent all of the people who have died in Iraq," she added.

She said bronze was long lasting and envisaged the memorial as being "tactile", like Victory over Blindness, offering a place for reflection.

Frith said the artist brought many ideas and "passion and perfection" to the project.

"She's done an absolutely fantastic job of bringing the vision that we had, to life," he said.

Frith leads the "Staffordshire 3" group, which has organised events to fund the memorial, including a black tie dinner that raised more than £5,300, while a climb to Everest Base Camp by three supporters put £13,000 into the pot.

Frith has also raised cash through a sponsored sky dive and a charity boxing match, and the group has sold pin badges, snoods and T-shirts.

Future plans include a show by the D-Day Darlings at Tamworth's St Editha's Church in March.

When the attack happened in Iraq, Frith was part of a three-vehicle patrol and said he saw a "massive flash" and heard an explosion that made the ground shake.

Pte Spicer, Pte Hewett and 2nd Lt Richard Shearer were killed and two other soldiers were injured.

At the time, the Ministry of Defence said: "The loss of three such popular and professional men is simply devastating."

It was also a "severe blow" to friends and comrades they had trained and served with, it said.

Frith's deep belief in remembrance has led to his involvement in the annual Ride to the Wall event, which pays tribute to people who have died in service since the end of World War Two.

He said soldiers in his former regiment and the wider military "are family".

"It's a bond, a brotherly bond," he said.

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