Meridian Soldiers

Soldiers who suffered terrible injuries in Afghanistan have set a new record for kayaking around the Isle of Wight,

Taking part were three amputees, with seven double kayaks in total. They covered 54 miles in 10 hours and 25 minutes. The challenge was organised by the Pilgrim Bandits charity which helps wounded serviceman by organising tough physical challenges.

Interview with Mike Witt, Pilgrim Bandits.

More than two hundred officers will celebrate the end of a year of intensive training later when they take part in the Soverign Parade at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst. Twenty two officers from the armies of seventeen other countries will join those from the British Army for the parade.

The five servicemen who lost their lives in a Afghan helicopter have been remembered today in Brize Norton, Oxford. The men from Hampshire were flown home from Aghanistan to the RAF base where a private memorial ceremony was held. Cary Johnston has this from RAF Brize Norton.

The bodies of five service personnel who were killed when their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan have been repatriated to the UK.

Captain Thomas Clarke, Warrant Officer Spencer Faulkner and Corporal James Walters, all of the Army Air Corps (AAC), were serving as the Lynx aircraft's three-man team when they died.

They died together with Flight Lieutenant Rakesh Chauhan of the Royal Air Force and Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas of the Intelligence Corps, who were believed to have been passengers on the flight.

Read: Helicopter crash servicemen repatriated

The bodies of five British servicemen killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan will be repatriated to the UK today.

Captain Thomas Clarke, Warrant Officer Spencer Faulkner and Corporal James Walters, all of the Army Air Corps (AAC), were serving as the aircraft's three-man team when they died.

They lost their lives together with Flight Lieutenant Rakesh Chauhan of the Royal Air Force and Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas of the Intelligence Corps, who were believed to have been passengers on the flight

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has denied claims by the Taliban that insurgents shot the helicopter down, with initial investigations indicating a "tragic accident" rather than enemy action as the cause of the crash.

The bodies of five Hampshire servicemen who were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan will be repatriated in Oxford today.

Captain Thomas Clarke, Warrant Officer Spencer Faulkner and Corporal James Walters, from Army Air Corps, were serving as the Lynx aircraft's three-man team when they died.

A private ceremony at RAF Brize Norton will remember the men who lost their lives went a helicopter went down in Afghanistan.

The cortege will then pass the Memorial Garden in Carterton before heading to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Four Hampshire soldiers who were killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan will be repatriated today

The group who were based at RAF Odiham near Hook died when their helicopter crashed in Kandahar during a routine flight. Their bodies will be brought through RAF Brize Norton.

The publication of thousands of diaries from servicemen who fought in the First World War will enable their voices to heard, Culture Secretary Maria Miller said.

Read: First World War diaries digitised for 'citizen historians'

Speaking ahead of the publication of the extracts today, she said:

Read the diaries on the National Archive site here

The online publication of thousands of pages of diary entries from the First World War will allow "allows people across the world to discover daily activities, stories and battles of each unit for themselves", author and military records specialist William Spencer said.

Read: First World War diaries digitised for 'citizen historians'

The diaries are the most popular records from The National Archives' First World War collection and are being digitised as part of the organisation's centenary programme.

Mr Spencer said he hopes the publication of the diaries will enable people to learn more about the First World War, and shed some light on the thoughts and feelings of the men who fought it. He said:

"It's interesting because it's humanising it. War is a de-humanising thing."

Read the diaries on the National Archive website here