Escort For Heroes

Ladies and Gents

Many of you know that I am a serving RAF officer. Whether or not you agree with the the UK's position in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is clear that we do not honour our war dead appropriately. I would ask that you spend a couple of minutes to take a look at the petition linked below and help raise this matter to the attention of the Government.

The wording of the petition is:

'The bodies of British servicemen and women killed overseas are flown to RAF Lyneham.

The hearses carrying the bodies receive no special escort once they leave the county of Wiltshire, normally bound for the mortuary at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.


It is an insult to these brave people and their families that their hearses should travel un-escorted on their journey through the country that these men and women served and died for.


The signatories to this petition request that the Ministry of Defence, in co-ordination with local Chief Constables, arrange for a formal escort for the bodies of all those Servicemen and women, unless the next-of-kin request otherwise.'

Thank you all.

Tony

Link: http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/escortforheroes/

The 100th serviceman/woman was repatriated today in Lyneham.

Link

The 100th serviceman/woman was repatriated today in Lyneham.

Link

As a serving member of the Armed Forces I have no hesitation in signing this petition. I second Tony's request and would also ask that V-flyer members spend a minute or two from their very precious time requesting action from the MOD and ACPO on this very important issue.

Regards
Bryan

As a serving member of the Armed Forces I have no hesitation in signing this petition. I second Tony's request and would also ask that V-flyer members spend a minute or two from their very precious time requesting action from the MOD and ACPO on this very important issue.

Regards
Bryan

Good call Tony,

Duly signed up here.

Regards,

Ian

Good call Tony,

Duly signed up here.

Regards,

Ian

As a former Serviceman, I have already added my name to this petition. I think that it is about time that our guys and gals are afforded the thanks of the country for the job they do. As an aside, I sent a parcel to my daughter the other day to a BFPO (she's a member of the Civil Service working with the Army overseas) and the lady in the Post Office who served me was of the opinion that all parcels to BFPO addresses should go free.

There has been a groundswell of opinion of late in favour of our troops serving overseas - long may it continue. [oo]

As a former Serviceman, I have already added my name to this petition. I think that it is about time that our guys and gals are afforded the thanks of the country for the job they do. As an aside, I sent a parcel to my daughter the other day to a BFPO (she's a member of the Civil Service working with the Army overseas) and the lady in the Post Office who served me was of the opinion that all parcels to BFPO addresses should go free.

There has been a groundswell of opinion of late in favour of our troops serving overseas - long may it continue. [oo]

Thanks Gents...there are a few of us across various web forums (fora?...never sure) trying to raise the profile of this petition a little. Please feel free to pass on the message!

Having recently returned from Qatar and Afghanistan, I can say for certain that the support of families, friends and the general population back home is right in the forefront of our boys and girls' minds. Anything we do back here will help.

Regards

Tony

Thanks Gents...there are a few of us across various web forums (fora?...never sure) trying to raise the profile of this petition a little. Please feel free to pass on the message!

Having recently returned from Qatar and Afghanistan, I can say for certain that the support of families, friends and the general population back home is right in the forefront of our boys and girls' minds. Anything we do back here will help.

Regards

Tony

The Governments response:

We pay tribute to the invaluable work undertaken by members of the Armed Forces, often in dangerous and difficult circumstances, and in particular the sacrifices of Service personnel who have been killed in the service of their country.

Our priority when Service personnel are killed in action is to ensure their families are supported and their wishes respected. A repatriation ceremony is conducted for all personnel who are killed in action; these ceremonies are held at the point of entry to the UK, normally RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, and are solemn affairs conducted with respect and dignity. At each ceremony, either a Defence Minister or a senior military officer attends to reflect the nations and Governments appreciation. After the ceremony, the bodies are transferred by road to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. As a matter of course the people of Wooton Bassett pay their respects by lining the streets as the cortge passes through their town.

The local police force, in both Wiltshire and Oxfordshire, are kept fully informed of the timings and route, as part of the planning process for the journey to Oxford. It is very important that the sacrifice made by the young men and women in our Armed Forces is properly recognised by the whole community, and the police have a part to play in that act of respect.

When operations in Iraq and Afghanistan began, the bodies of our Servicemen and women were brought to RAF Brize Norton, and the military hearses were escorted by Thames Valley Police motorcyclists to the John Radcliffe Hospital. In early 2007, RAF Lyneham became the point of entry and the Wiltshire Constabulary took over initial responsibility for escort. Unfortunately, this coincided with the withdrawal of all Thames Valley Police motorcycles from the road after the deaths of two police officers elsewhere in the county, and so Thames Valley Police was temporarily unable to continue the escort from the Wiltshire border.

The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police has now confirmed that his force has resumed the escort of military hearses. It will use road policing cars for the escort role until it takes delivery of a new fleet of motorcycles.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/list/closed

Regards
Bryan

Shows what can be done if people put enough passion into a worthy cause.