Grief and doubt in soldier's town

By Mike Thomson
Today programme

For many years the army has offered the main escape from the dole queue for the young men of the Yorkshire town of Castleford, near Wakefield.

But those I spoke say that since the death of 18-year-old James Backhouse in Afghanistan, joining up is no longer an option.

The Rifleman with the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed while on patrol in the Helmand province. He was one of five soldiers from his battalion to die that day after two explosions.

Three other soldiers were killed in the same twenty four hour period in Afghanistan.

The fence outside his home in the Airedale area of Castleford has become a makeshift memorial.

Friends have made a memorial outside James Backhouse's home

A gazebo protects cherished pictures of James in his uniform from the elements; flowers with notes of condolence, many left by those close to him in age, have been tied to the wooden slats; a whiteboard with a pen on a piece of string has been propped up for messages to be written.

As I stood outside the house, two young women came up to add their flowers to the pile.

"He shouldn't have gone. I think they should bring them all back there are too many people dying and it's horrible," said one.

"Everybody thinks it's mad and that they should come home."

They were not the only ones to tell me things had changed after James died.

Army doubts

Jamie Bell had been a friend of "Jimmy" since they were in secondary school in Airedale. Jamie had wanted to join the army too - but as an asthmatic was told he would have to be free of the condition for four years.

A more recent attack meant he was not considered fit enough to join up - though he now told me his attitude had now changed to becoming a soldier.

"I wouldn't be able to go now. I know what it feels like seeing a mate go like he has," he said.

"I wouldn't like people feeling like that about me. It has changed how I feel about going in the army.

"There are not many people of our age that would want to go in the army after seeing what happened to those eight lads."

James Backhouse was killed days before he was due to return home

Tom Garr had wanted to become a soldier - like his uncle and grandfather before him.

A near neighbour of James Backhouse, he had been deemed physically unfit for the army because of migraines. He was told he could reapply to join if he did not have a headache within three years.

"It would've been my third year next year but I am reconsidering now with my mate passing away," he said.

"I am not 100% that I am not joining but I know full well my family don't want me to join.

"You lose your best mate and you rethink all your options really. All I think is that we shouldn't be over there. I don't think many people want to join now."

One big family

Airedale is a close knit community. Many of its members, from an older generation than James - perhaps the parents of his friends - arrived as I was on the street to deliver pots and trays of food for his family.

Some had showed their support of the Rifleman's family in other ways.

A group of James's friends had travelled to Wootton Bassett to witness the repatriation of his body and the mournful parade through the Wiltshire village's streets. Some of the young men told me that they had cried openly.

Thousands lined the streets for the repatriation of British soldiers

Chelsea Knowles is the girlfriend of one of James's close friends John Everett. John had been due to pick up James from Leeds-Bradford Airport on Monday. He was due to finish his tour in Afghanistan just two days after he was killed.

Chelsea says that James's friends had a special bond with the soldier.

"They'd express their love for him a lot. I know my boyfriend would ring him and say 'I love you' on the end, and that was weird for boys, but I think they all knew he was going out there to an amazing thing and they all knew how great he was," she says.

"They weren't ashamed or embarrassed or anything. It was just them being normal really; it was just them showing their feelings, which for most people would be weird, but in this circumstance it's completely natural."

The army had held opportunities for the young men of Castleford - a decent job in a town with few to offer. I spoke to a group of James's friends. Among them, though I did not know it at the time, was Ryan Backhouse, James's 15 year old brother.

"There's nowt for us lot round here. If you don't get into college or you've not got a good Rugby career you've got naff all: it's just retail."

Would some young men settle for nothing rather than join the army, I asked him.

After considering the question for a few moments he looked me in the eye.

"They might do," he says. "Some people fear if they die it's going to affect the family like it's affected us lot round here - and we are one big huge family on this street."