Air base funeral for officer

Air base funeral for officer

The funeral was held in 849 Squadron's hangar at Culdrose

The military funeral of an officer killed in a double helicopter crash during the war in Iraq has been held at his base in Cornwall.

Lieutenant Philip West, 32, was among six servicemen who were killed when two Sea King helicopters collided over the Gulf.

Around 200 people attended the funeral service at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, near Helston.

A spokesman at the base said the family had requested the service be held in the 849 Squadron hangar.

The coffin was draped in the Union Flag with Lieutenant West's cap and sword placed on top.

We say goodbye to a wonderful son, brother and uncle who lived life to the full and died for a cause he believed in

Valeria Hall, Lieutenant West's mother

Friends, family, squadron personnel and senior Royal Navy officers were present at the service, which was followed by a private burial service near Falmouth.

Lieutenant West's body was flown back to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire last week.

Before the service his mother, Valeria Hall, from Hoylake on the Wirral, said: "We say goodbye to a wonderful son, brother and uncle who lived life to the full and died for a cause he believed in."

Due to marry

Lieutenant West lived in Budock Water, near Falmouth, with his fiancee Nicky, a nurse at Treliske Hospital in Truro.

The couple, who met in 1998 when he was serving at Culdrose, were due to marry in August and were converting a barn together.

Lieutenant West was originally from Carlisle and moved to Hoylake when he was 10 years old.

The military funeral of 28-year-old Lieutenant James Williams, who died in the same crash, was held in the Squadron hangar at Culdrose on Wednesday.

He was engaged to Sarah, and they had bought a house together in Falmouth.