Dog Soldiers: Part 1 of 3: Love, loyalty and sacrifice on the front line. Isabel George

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      Contents

       Cover

       Title Page

       Copyright

       Timeline

       Introduction

       1 Please God, look after him …

       2 Man down!

       3 For Queen and country – The Troubles

       4 The dogs of war – deployment to Afghanistan

       5 Sasha enters the theatre

       6 Home – RAF Lyneham

       Moving Memoirs eNewsletter

       About the Publisher

Timeline

      Northern Ireland border, Clogher, County Tyrone, 23 July 1973

      Corporal Bryan Criddle RAVC was injured when an IRA bomb, hidden in a milk churn, was detonated remotely. He died due to head injuries four days later. His dog, Jason, was blown 30 feet in the air but survived.

      Northern Ireland, Kilkeel, 28 May 1986

      Corporal Brian Brown QGM from Ballynahinch was a member of 3 UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment) and had been awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his service in Northern Ireland. He lost his life on 28 May 1986 when a bomb exploded at a garage in Kilkeel. Oliver, his search dog, was also killed in the blast. The ashes of the faithful Yellow Labrador were buried with his master.

      Northern Ireland, Crossmaglen, 21 May 1988

      Corporal Derek Hayes of the Royal Pioneer Corps died with his Army search dog, Ben, when an IRA booby trap bomb exploded. Cpl Hayes and Ben were on patrol in Crossmaglen when they were asked to investigate a partly hidden box in a ditch but as they approached the device exploded, killing them both. The ashes of the faithful Yellow Labrador were buried alongside the soldier.

      Northern Ireland, Belfast, 25 May 1991

      Corporal Terry ‘Geordie’ O’Neill was the victim of a ‘coffee-jar’ bomb (Semtex, nails, bolts and ball bearings). He was killed instantly. Darren ‘Swifty’ Swift, his fellow handler, standing alongside him, lost both legs in the attack, which took place as the two soldiers exercised their dogs in the yard of the Army Dog Unit. Several dogs were injured in the blast, including Geordie’s dog, Blue, and Swifty’s dog, Troy.

      Four dog soldiers lost their lives during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, between 1973 and 1991. The conflict in Afghanistan was to claim the next man and dog.

Introduction

      As you made your way to the kennels at Camp Bastion it’s said you could hear, from metres away, the dogs preparing their noisy welcome. Your walk would take you past innumerable dust-covered vehicles, and around you men and women in desert fatigues moved with constant purpose as life played out on the British Forces base in Afghanistan.

      In among these scenes of everyday life stood memorials to the fallen – like markers among the living. Sand-coloured walls of Remembrance and glistening brass crosses rose defiant against the Afghan sky, bearing the names of the mighty and the brave: the men, women and dogs killed in action since the conflict began in 2001.

      The memorial to the СКАЧАТЬ