Cyrus Thatcher added to memorial

By Emma Midgley
BBC Berkshire reporter

Cyrus Thatcher decided he wanted to become a rifleman aged 14

The name of rifleman Cyrus Thatcher, who was killed in Afghanistan in May has been added to the Caversham War Memorial ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

The memorial is located in Christchurch Meadows, Caversham.

Speaking to BBC Berkshire's Andrew Peach, Cyrus's mother Helena Tym, said she was touched by the news.

"I am touched. It's fantastic," she said. "Now his name goes together with all those proud soldiers from other wars."

Cyrus, who was aged only 19 when he died, wrote a letter to his family to be opened in the event of his death.

It read: "I died doing what I was born to do. I was happy and felt great about myself. Although the army was sadly the end of me it was also the making of me, so please don't feel any hate towards it."

"As I am writing this letter I can see you are all crying and mourning my death, but if I could have one wish in the afterlife, it would be to stop your crying and continue in your dreams."

Pauline Palmer organises the local poppy appeal for the Royal British Legion. She helped organise a public appeal in 2005 to put the World War II names on our war memorial.

She said: "We left one panel uninscribed for future events, and we hoped we would never have to fill it.

"But obviously Cyrus was killed in the middle of the year and we called up the stonemason."