Hercules crash airmen remembered

A service marking the first anniversary of a fatal Hercules crash in Iraq has been held at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

Ten servicemen lost their lives when their aircraft was shot down near Baghdad during a routine flight.

During Monday's service a tree was planted in the memorial garden and a special plaque was unveiled bearing the names of those who died.

An RAF Hercules aircraft performed a flypast in Devon on Sunday in memory of a local serviceman killed in the crash.

The 10 dead included eight crew and two passengers.

The crew, who were mainly based at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, were:

• RAF 47 Squadron's Flt Lt David Stead, the pilot, 35
• Flt Lt Andrew Smith, 25, the co-pilot
• Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, 42
• Flt Sgt Mark Gibson, 34
• Australian airman Flt Lt Paul Pardoel, 35, a navigator
• Chief technician Richard Brown, 40, an avionics specialist
• Sgt Robert O'Connor, 38, an engineering technician
• Acting L/Cpl Steven Jones, 25, of Fareham, Hampshire, a Royal Signals soldier.

The passengers were:

• Sqn Ldr Patrick Marshall, 39, from Strike Command Headquarters, RAF High Wycombe
• Corporal David Williams, 37, a survival equipment fitter.

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