Minster service honours heroes of Helmand

The First World War poet’s famous words were spoken to a crowd of hundreds of mourners by Canon Hilary Barber, vicar of the minster, which he said were a reminder of how young the victims of war can be.

On the altar, draped with the regimental flag of the Duke of Wellington’s, Canon Barber lit six candles, telling the congregation: “To remind us of the six soldiers who died for their Queen and country during this past week.”

Canon Barber, who likened the outpouring of public grief over the deaths of the six soldiers to the death of Princess Diana, said: “Those wonderful colours on the regimental flags, those gold and reds, ultimately what they reflect is the human cost of war – from the Battle of Waterloo to the Crimean War to the peace keeping mission in Afghanistan.

“Now is not the time for the political discussion about the rights and wrongs of being there, now is the time for the public to express their solidarity for these lads currently out there serving.

“The nation has gone into shock over this, and people don’t really know how to respond and how they should feel.” Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, of Dewsbury; Private Anthony Frampton, 20, and Private Daniel Wilford, 21, both of Huddersfield; and Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, of Bradford; all served with the 3rd Battalion, which was formerly the Duke of Wellington’s, before it was amalgamated into The Yorkshire Regiment in 2006.

They were killed alongside fellow 3rd Battalion soldier Private Daniel Wade, 20, from Warrington, Cheshire whose fiancée is expecting their child; and Sergeant Nigel Coupe, a 33-year-old father-of-two, from Lytham St Annes, of 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

Attending yesterday’s service were relatives of Huddersfield soldier Lance Corporal Graham Shaw, also of the 3rd Battalion, who was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Helmand in 2010.

His uncle Mick Dyson told the Yorkshire Post: “We just thought that we had to come to offer our prayers for the six soldiers that were killed. We had met a few of the soldiers who died and when we heard the news last week it was devastating – it just brought it all back. The memories will never go away.

“These deaths have rocked Huddersfield but the community has pulled together.”

Halifax is the regimental home of the Duke of Wellington’s and a number of veteran “Iron Dukes” attended the service, displaying their campaign medals with pride. Major Bob Heron, assistant regimental secretary of The Yorkshire Regiment, who served with the Duke of Wellington’s for 31 years, said: “It is certainly true that there has been a big outpouring of grief.

“This is very high up on the list of tragedies the regiment has faced and certainly the biggest tragedy in recent years.

“Hopefully this service will show the families that everybody out there it thinking about them.”

Among the mourners attending the service was Halifax Labour MP Linda Riordan, the Mayor of Calderdale Coun Nader Fekri, and members of the Royal British Legion (RBL) riders who number some 5,000 motorbike riders and attend remembrance events across the country.

RBL rider Colour Sergeant Jess Owen, who served with the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment, now the 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, for 23 years, said: “It is very important to do this not just for the soldiers who are doing a very difficult job, but to show support for their families.”

Comment: Page 10; Jayne Dowle: Page 11.