May he rest in peace.
Posted on 04/28/2003 11:16:52 AM PDT by knighthawk
Friends, family and Army colleagues attended the funeral today of the youngest British victim of the war with Iraq.
A service for Kelan Turrington, 18, of the First Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was held at All Saints Church, in his home village of Haslingfield, near Cambridge.
His coffin was carried to the church by a bearer party of six soldiers from his regiment, followed by the teenager's parents John, known as Curly, Turrington, 54, his mother Ann, 46, and brother Liam, 15. The party walked through two lines of soldiers.
Around 250 mourners packed the parish church for the service, which was conducted by the Rev Mark Jones, of nearby Bassingbourn Barracks.
Kelan's coffin was draped in the regimental red and white flag, and placed on top were his headdress, belt, bayonet and a bouquet of red and white flowers.
Around 200 villagers and friends of the family stood in the churchyard and listened to the service, which was relayed outside.
During the service some of the teenager's former classmates spoke warmly about the friend who had always wanted to join the Army.
One described Kelan as generous, quiet and reserved. The teenager said: "When we were at school, all Kelan ever used to talk about was joining the Army.
"He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his dad and join the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers."
Another friend described him as loyal, honest and caring. The congregation were told that his parents had received many letters of condolence sent from people from around the country. Following the service, mourners moved into the churchyard for the teenager's burial. A volley of shots were fired by a firing party of soldiers and the Last Post and Reveille were played by a lone trumpeter. Kelan's mother was presented with her son's headdress, belt, bayonet and the flag used to drape the coffin by the regiment.
God bless him and his family.
Walt
May he rest in peace.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.