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Queen to unveil Iraq and Afghanistan war memorial in London Queen unveils Iraq and Afghanistan war memorial in London
(about 2 hours later)
A memorial honouring the contribution and sacrifice of thousands of UK service personnel, aid workers and civilians during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts will be unveiled by the Queen on Thursday. The Queen paid tribute to the many thousands of UK military and civilians who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf as a new memorial was unveiled on the banks of the Thames.
The sculpture, by Paul Day, features two large stone monoliths supporting a bronze medallion and commemorates the twin themes of duty and service. It will be dedicated during a service for 2,500 guests in central London attended by representatives from the military, humanitarian organisations and senior royals, including Prince Charles and Afghanistan veteran Prince Harry. The prime minister, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and senior figures from the cabinet attended a military drumhead service on Thursday alongside 2,500 invited guests on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall, London.
The sculpture, in Victoria Embankment Gardens next to the Ministry of Defence, cost £1m and was funded through donations. They were joined by former prime ministers Tony Blair, David Cameron and Sir John Major before the unveiling of sculptor Paul Day’s £1m memorial in nearby Victoria Embankment Gardens in the shadow of the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
It pays tribute to the 680 military personnel who lost their lives in the regions: 456 during Operation Herrick, the MoD codename for the war in Afghanistan, 179 in Operation Telic, the deployment to Iraq in the 2003 US-led invasion and 47 during the first Gulf war. Commemorating the twin themes of duty and service and featuring two large stone monoliths supporting a bronze medallion, the memorial will stand as a permanent reminder not just to members of the armed forces, but also to all British citizens who worked in areas such as aid distribution, education, healthcare, infrastructure and governance.
More than 300,000 military personnel were involved between 1990 and 2015. The memorial is also a permanent reminder of all British citizens who worked in areas such as aid distribution, education, healthcare, infrastructure and governance. It honours the 680 military who died in the regions – a total of 456 during Operation Herrick, the MoD code name for the war in Afghanistan, 179 on Operation Telic, the deployment to Iraq in the US-led 2003 invasion, and 47 killed during the first Gulf war. There is a memorial to the lives lost at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
It bears no names and gives equal prominence to the military and civilian, with the double-sided medallion bearing images of doctors, schools, wells and aid distribution. This new memorial bears no names and its design gives equal prominence to the military and civilians, with the double-sided medallion bearing images of doctors, schools, wells, and aid distribution.
Among invited guests for the service of dedication on Horse Guards Parade are many who served. Before the service some military widows criticised organisers for failing to inform them about the event or offer invites to all the bereaved families. The MoD, which said invitations had been handled by various charitable and support organisations, said at the eleventh hour arrangements would be made for any bereaved who wished to attend.
Sgt Paul Stafford, 36, of the Royal Tank Regiment, completed three tours of Iraq and two of Afghanistan, during which three members of his squadron were lost and many more injured. He said the power of the memorial was that it honoured everyone. There were calls for May to apologise for what was described as a “careless oversight”. She had told parliament no one from the “bereaved community” had been turned away, adding that the MoD would make every effort to ensure relatives who wanted to attend were able to do so.
“It’s the civilian organisations, the contractors sent to help, the Naafi [Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes] staff who served us milkshakes when we came in, which was one of the best things in the world when you have been there a few weeks,” said Stafford, who spent most of his time in Afghanistan away from the Camp Bastion HQ. A reservist nurse “saved one of our guys. It’s nice to remember that,” he said. But widow Wendy Rayner, 45, whose husband Sgt Peter Rayner was killed in Afghanistan in 2010, said the offer was “too little, too late”, while Brenda Hale, 48, a former Democratic Unionist party MLA whose husband, Capt Mark Hale, died in Afghanistan in 2009, described the handling of the event as “completely crass”. Victoria Bateman, from Colchester in Essex, whose husband, L/Cpl James Bateman, was killed in Afghanistan in 2008, was attending having answered an email from the Army Widows’ Association but described the belated invitation to other bereaved families as “a bit of a slap in the face”.
For Angie McDonnell, 43, a London paramedic and reservist who was posted to a patrol base in Lashkar Gah, the memorial brings back memories of patrols with the Warrior armoured vehicles along roads strewn with improvised explosive devices, treating local Afghans as well as British military. She said having a memorial in London that people could walk past and take the time to appreciate everybody who had given something was “a fantastic thing”. In a foreword to the order of service, the Queen said: “It is with pride that we honour the contribution of all those members of the armed forces and civilians who served our country – at home and abroad – while endeavouring to bring peace and stability to Iraq and Afghanistan. We shall be forever grateful to them for the part they played.
McDonnell has just published Gun Shy, a book about a military dog called Vidar that she befriended on tour and brought back to London. She paid tribute to the vets, among others, who put themselves in danger. “I am sure the new memorial will provide a fitting opportunity for all to reflect upon the events of that 25-year period, remembering the many examples of personal courage and achievement in adversity, and the great sacrifices that were made.”
Mark Collins, 49, formerly a logistics officer with the RAF who works for the Royal British Legion, was seconded to the US marines. He was responsible for managing infrastructure – rebuilding roads and canals – and overseeing agricultural projects in Afghanistan, notably the Kajaki dam turbine 2 installation. Paying tribute to the “extraordinary courage and dedication” of those who served, May said in a message: “No matter how much time passes this memorial will stand, reminding all those who pass that their rights and freedoms do not come for free, but are paid for by the hard determination and sacrifice of others.”
He attended more than 20 US and UK military repatriations. “The memorial is an opportunity for people to reflect on the support given by people from all walks of life; servicemen and women, reservists and all those individuals that were UK based that flew in and out of theatre on a regular basis, and there is a lot of risk attached to that. All of those people have an opportunity to reflect, and there is somewhere to focus that reflection now.” Prince Harry, an Afghanistan veteran, gave a Bible reading from the books of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Sgt Paul Stafford, 36, of the Royal Tank Regiment, who served three tours of Iraq and two of Afghanistan during which three members of his squadron were lost and many more injured, said the power of the memorial was that it honoured all, not only those killed in action.
However, some relatives of soldiers killed have criticised organisers for failing to inform them about the event or issue invitations to all the bereaved families. Theresa May, was urged to apologise for what was described as a “careless oversight”. “It’s the civilian organisations, the contractors sent to help, the Naafi staff who served us milkshakes when we came in, which was one of the best things in the world when you have been there a few weeks,” said Stafford, who spent most of his time in Afghanistan away from the HQ Camp Bastion, living in the desert or empty buildings.
The prime minister told parliament no one from the “bereaved community” would be turned away, adding that the MoD would make every effort to ensure relatives who wanted to attend were able to do so. He said a nurse, a reservist attached to his unit, “saved one of our guys. It’s nice to remember that”, and to honour those killed, or who suffered life-changing injuries “for what they have done, and to know they have not been forgotten.”
Wendy Rayner, whose husband, Sgt Peter Rayner, was killed during a routine patrol in Afghanistan in 2010, said the offer was “too little, too late”. Rayner, 45 from Bradford, said she would not be able to make the three-hour journey at such short notice. Tommy Roberts, 48, a Royal Marine commando who completed two tours of Afghanistan and one of Iraq, losing colleagues and friends in both conflicts, said the service of dedication was a time to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice. “If you focus, you’ve always got that snapshot picture. You can hear their laugh, and see their eyes, when it comes to times like this,” he said.
She said: “I think it is cheeky to turn round and say: ‘Oh well, you can come now.’ I’m sorry but it’s too little, too late. They should have just apologised.” Wendy Phillips, 57, a Department for International Development deputy head of office in Afghanistan who did three tours working with aid workers, said: “Everyone who took part was a cog in a much bigger wheel; everyone had an important role to play and it is right that we’ve marked that down in history. In Afghanistan we knew it was going to be tough and we knew change would be incremental, but we are in it for the long haul and we are starting to see real reform in the country.”
Victoria Bateman, from Colchester, will be attending, having answered an email from the Army Widows’ Association, but described the belated invitation to other bereaved families as “a bit of a slap in the face”.
She said: “People have children, responsibilities, jobs. Many can’t just go with so little notice.”
Bateman, whose husband, L/Cpl James Bateman, was killed in Afghanistan in 2008, said the sister of a soldier who died alongside her husband had travelled to the service without an invitation.