General Chat

I have just read that war dead are to be driven out of the back gate and down side roads to avoid the public when repatriations are flown into RAF Brize-norton. Andrew Robathan, minister for Defence Personnel,Welfare and Veterans admitted that the decision to avoid public scenes of emotion had been taken deliberatly.
At what lenghts will they go to cover up the wrongs.
Words fail me.
Ann

I think that is really insulting both to those who are killed and their families. I am sure the greetings of the coffins in Wootton Bassett helped in a small way to alleviate the pain. Shame on them.

One of the excuses is that on the main road through a nearby village (Carlton or something like that), is a school, and married quarters, and they didn't want either the children or service families exposed to that on a daily basis....

I can see their point if that is the case, but like you say Ann, the regular scenes at Wootton Basset have been nothing but a massive respect and gratitude to the servicemen, and a focal point for their grieving families.

I personally think Andrew Robathan is very brave to take this decison, weather is it the correct one remains to be seen. I certainly dont think its to cover up any wrong doings. This god awful war on terrorist in my opinion isnt the governments fault and or everyother country that is involved in this awful war ,its the terrorist at fault.

Maybe ( in my opinion ) Andrew Robathan made this decision considering the very good people of Wootten Bassett, as we have all seen that when one of our dead war hero returns home, they drive through the town, the town and people do not carry on the stop what they are doing and pay their respects, what effect is this having on them? If they are not happy with the decison they will find the route and line that....of course once again my congradulations to the disgusting Bristish vile Media to protray it as a sordid scandal and stirr up a little unrest as it will surely do.

Don't get me started on the media reporting, it's my bugbear this week.

It has been with me for years Teresa....

When they land and leave from Brize Hayley they would not be going anywhere near W Bassett so the people of that wonderful town have done their duty. When they first spoke about it they were going to have the people pay their respect on the dual carriageway which to me was a bit dangerous. I do get your point about the school and quarters though TW. I suppose if there is nowhere else suitable there is nothing they can do.

And no Hayley, I don't think it is to cover up wrongs. To say the war in afghanistan is wrong is to deny all those killed so far.

I totally agree Ann I think they are more than wonderful, and lets face it, I can imagine and I really dont want too, what some sort of comfort it must be for the familes to see their loved ones repsected .

Found it....

The choice of gate that will be used for the cortege to exit RAF Brize Norton is a decision for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) – the chosen gate is gate 6 which is on the eastern edge of the station. The reason cited for using this gate were because it is 1) the closest to the purpose built chapel of rest and 2) it causes the least amount of impact on the operational airfield which will, as you will know, be the only AT/AAR base in the UK.



The route was chosen by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) with subject matter expert guidance from Thames Valley Police (TVP). The chosen route from gate 6 is through the village of Brize Norton, along Carterton Road, Norton Way, Monahan Way, up to the A40 and directly to the JR Hospital. OCC and TVP were tasked with the challenge of identifying the most direct route, without detour, so that the post-mortem can be carried out and the body can be released to the family ASAP, this was requested by the Coroner. Another consideration was that people should be given the opportunity to pay their respects; therefore a special memorial garden will be built with a flagpole that will fly the Union Flag.

This memorial garden will become the focus for repatriations, the family and friends of the fallen will gather there, the cortege will pause and the family will have the opportunity to place flowers on the Hearse. The flag currently flown at Wooten Bassett will be handed over at the memorial garden. It is also worth noting of course that people are free to pay their respect anywhere on the route as they do at present. Wootton Bassett may be the focus but others pay their respects at various other points on the route.



Carterton Town Council was not responsible for choosing the exit gate or deciding on the route. As a community they now have a responsibility to ensure that they do the very best they can for the fallen heroes, their family, friends and colleagues, within the constraints that have been placed upon them, as explained above.

OCC are now coordinating the whole thing and will be involving both parish councils as well as the Royal British Legion.

This article can be found here http://www.facebook.com/notes/william-aldridge-foundation/for-the-benefit-of-those-who-may-be-confused-about-the-repatriation-route-from-r/224376450928495

'At what lenghts will they go to cover up the wrongs 'was not meant to dishonour any of our fallen troups. As we as a family have lost dear friends in this terrible war we have every respect for all those who have given their lives for us.
Sorry for any upset to anyone.
Ann

Sorry Ann I didnt think you was being disrepectful at all, I read it as cover up wrong doings as the government was hiding the fact there was deaths and also is it was wrong for the serviceman to be out there, which I know you DIDNT say any of those words that how I read it....WHICH again I wasnt pointing the finger at you I was blaming the media.

Flags at half mast to show deep respect
Eyes full of tears as the coffins go by
Families and loved ones are left to reflect
at the loss of their husbands, fathers and sons
Some who are praying look up to the sky
for those who were taken by bombs or by guns
They all stand in silence in sunshine or rain
for the service men and women whose lives have been lost
some stand and wonder at what do we gain
from the lives that are lost at such a terrible cost.

But reading the piece that TW has reproduced there will still be the opportunity to show respect so not as bad as we thought.

I think the fact that Wootton Bassett is to become Royal W.B. will honour all those repatriated through there and show the respect everyone had for those lost in battle recently.


(Wootton Bassett is to be the first town in more than 100 years to get the title of "Royal" in recognition of its efforts to honour the UK's war dead.

Repatriations of fallen troops have taken place through the Wiltshire town since 2007.

These will end when RAF Lyneham closes at the end of 2012, with the majority of its planes, kit and personnel moving to Brize Norton.

David Cameron made the announcement during Prime Minister's Questions.

'Unique and special'

The only other towns in England with royal in their title are Royal Leamington Spa and Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Wootton Bassett lies on the route the corteges currently take to the John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford.


Making the announcement, Mr Cameron confirmed that troop repatriations would no longer happen via Wootton Bassett from September.

But he said the Queen had agreed to the tribute as "an enduring symbol of the nation's admiration and our gratitude to the people of that town".

Mr Cameron told the House of Commons: "Their deeply moving and dignified demonstrations of respect and mourning have shown the deep bond between the public and our armed forces."

Mary Champion, Mayor of Wootton Bassett, said: "This is a great honour for our community as the repatriations move away from Wootton Bassett."

In a written ministerial statement, Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "I would like to thank RAF Lyneham for their excellent work in supporting the important task of repatriation ceremonies.

"I would also like to record publicly my thanks to the people of Wootton Bassett who have chosen to pay their respects in a unique and special way.

"It is such spontaneous public support that captures the spirit of the British people, and I am very grateful for those who have participated.

"Such gestures do not go unnoticed by those deployed on operations."

Conservative MP James Gray, whose North Wiltshire constituency includes Wootton Bassett, told the Commons: "The people of Wootton Bassett have sought no thanks or praise for what they have done on so many hundreds of occasions.

"But they will be deeply honoured and very pleased by the honour which Her Majesty has shown them on this occasion.")

If there is a way to honour those lost to their families and friends in a similar way, along the new route, to possibly ease their repatriation, then it will be ok I suppose, altho it won't be as spontaneous as the first gatherings at Wootton Bassett. However it will show more respect and gratitude if members of the public can somehow be involved as well as there being a 'private' place to put the flowers on the hearses and such.

I hope it will fall into place and become as moving and respectful as the route now enables it to be.

Lizx

I always feel for the families of these soldiers that they have to endure having no say in how their son/daughter is returned to them and to have them paraded though a throng of strangers seems so wrong...

Can I just point everyone to another article on this subject, written by a member of the RAF. Very informative and useful.

http://thehangar.tv/profiles/blogs/paying-respect-to-our-fallen

Well done TeresaW.
This explains so much. Thank you.

Thank you.

As I said earlier on this thread, I have a bit of a thing about media reporting, and rarely if ever form an opinion based on any news report, but look into it further to dig out the facts that the media invariably miss out if they don't serve the purpose of stirring up a hornets nest. There is always more to it than the media state and it doesn't take much to google with a few key words to find out the rest of the story.

I often wondered whether the families of these dead soldiers wanted their homecoming shared by the general public. I understand that there are other formalities which have to be gone through once the solidiers bodies have landed. This must be a terrible ordeal for the families. May be a quicker way of achieving this will helps the families.

I would think it sufficient for members of the public to stop what they are doing as a cortege goes by. I'm not sure strangers throwing flowers at the hearse is what I would want if it was my family member.

Vera

A very interesting and informative thread. Thank you to each person who has put the point of view and a special thanks to TeresaW for making everything so clear.
07.41 hrs Spain