Meridian Military News

The Princess Royal, Princess Anne has been in Abingdon today at a parade and medal ceremony for 12 Logistic Support Regiment.

Almost three hundred soldiers in the regiment have been recognised for their roles in a recent tour of duty in Afghanistan.

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• Princess Anne

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• Abingdon

Servicemen and women from Fourth Battalion the Rifles in Wiltshire, said goodbye to their loved ones just two weeks ago, and deployed to Afghanistan for a six month tour.

British forces are scheduled to withdraw next year, so the troops focus is now on supporting and training the Afghans. Sally Lockwood reports.

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• 4 Rifles

The veteran who led the campaign for those involved in the Arctic Convoys to receive the 'Arctic Star medals' has finally received his medal after years of campaigning.

Commander Eddie Grenfell, aged 93, was too ill to travel to a special ceremony at Downing Street where some of his colleagues will receive their wards from the Prime Minister. Commander Grenfell was the first person to receive the medal.

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An Arctic Convoy veteran from the Isle of Wight has begun his journey to London to collect his medal from The Prime Minister at Downing Street. Douglas Turtle was involved in one of World War Two's most dangerous naval missions. He has been invited to a special ceremony by David Cameron.

The award of the Arctic Star and the Bomber Command Clasp follows years of campaigning for proper recognition for armed services personnel from the Arctic Convoys and Bomber Command during the Second World War.

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• Arctic Convoy

An inquest has been opened in Oxford into the death in Afghanistan of Royal Marine Sergeant Luke Taylor from Christchurch in Dorset. Sergeant Taylor was killed alongside Lance Corporal Michael Foley from Lancashire as they guarded a British base at Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province.

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• Sgt Luke Taylor

Sergeant Luke Taylor, 33, of the Royal Marines, and Lance Corporal Michael Foley, 25, of the Adjutant General's Corps, were killed at the entrance to the UK headquarters in Helmand Province in March this year.

Shortly after his death a colleague of Sergeant Luke Taylor said:

"Luke was the kind of guy you wanted next to you - regardless of the situation, he was a cool head and a source of endless banter. I never saw him fazed; he just seemed to "crack on" and many a time dragged those around with him!

"He had one of those infectious charismas, always able to talk himself out of a situation. For me, like so many, Luke was simply an inspiration. Completely dedicated and loyal to his family, you could just feel the warmth when he spoke of them."

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• Afghanistan
• Lashkar Gah

One of the most famous figures in British military history, Major Charles Gordon (1833 - 1885), has been honoured in the town in Kent where he spent much of his life.

Best remembered as 'Gordon of Khartoum' he moved around frequently, living in Gravesend, Southampton and Chatham.

He was much more than a soldier and become a champion of the poor before he died defending the British Empire overseas. One town in the South owes him a far greater debt than most, as Derek Johnson explains.

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• Gordon of Khartoum

The issues faced by former servicemen and women, including homelessness, attempted suicide and unemployment are being highlighted in a new exhibition in Tunbridge Wells.

The exhibition will include stories from a man who joined the Royal Navy in the 1940s through to those who served in the Falklands, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

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• Tunbridge Wells

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