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Soldier dies in rescue mission just months after his wedding
Nicholas Cecil and Paul Waugh18 Aug 2009
One of the latest three British soldiers killed by roadside bombs had married just weeks before he deployed to Afghanistan.
Fusilier Simon Annis, 22, was killed on Sunday while evacuating his section commander L/Cpl James Fullarton, who also died after an explosion near Sangin in Helmand province. Fusilier Louis Carter, also taking part in the rescue, was also killed.
Fusilier Annis, from Salford, had married his wife Caroline in February. Today, his widow said: “Simon was the perfect husband, son and brother. He will be sorely missed by all of us. He was a true hero who made all of us so very proud and he will always have a place in our hearts.”
The three soldiers were from 2nd Battalion the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers; their deaths took the number of British military fatalities to 204.
L/Cpl Fullarton, 25, from Coventry, who had got engaged to his girlfriend, Leanne, during his last leave, was leading the company on a patrol when the explosion took place.
His parents, Janice and Peter, and his fiancée,said: “James was an outstanding soldier who was so proud to serve his Queen and country. He touched so many around him and has left a void in our lives that will never be filled.”
Major Mick McCarthy, of the 2nd Battalion, said the deaths were a “devastating blow”after the deaths of two other soldiers from their company.
He said: “Despite this, the fusiliers in A Company and across the battalion remain steadfast and determined to continue to further improve the impressive reputation they have established.”
A senior military source has revealed that an increase in the number of British deaths in the Sangin area came after forces there had been “thinned out” to take part in Operation Panther's Claw further south in Helmand.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said: “These three brave soldiers have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the security of all of us in the United Kingdom. Their deaths are truly heart-rending and their families are in my thoughts. The loved ones they have lost are true heroes.”
Today, a military aircraft carrying the bodies of three other soldiers killed by makeshift bombs arrived back at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
The repatriated soldiers are Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, 23, from North Yorkshire, of 40 Regiment Royal Artillery; Rifleman Daniel Wild, 19, from County Durham; and Capt Mark Hale, 42, from Bournemouth.
US President Barack Obama and Foreign Secretary David Miliband today tried to shore up support for the war. Mr Obama said the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban was a “war of necessity” and “fundamental to the defence of our people”.
Mr Miliband said that as the home of international terrorism, the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan “remains the primary threat to Britain's national security”.
