Repatriation notice - Sapper Richard Walker

The Repatriation of British Army Sapper Richard Walker from 28 Engineer Regiment, will take place on Thursday 17th January 2013 at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.

The aircraft carrying his body is scheduled to land around 13.30 with the cortege due to pass the Memorial Garden at 16.15 before travelling to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Sapper Walker was shot and killed on Monday 7th January 2013 by a member of the Afghan National Army (ANA) at Patrol Base Hazrat in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Georgian Army Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze repatriated

The body of Georgian Army Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze arrived back in Georgia late on Wednesday 2nd January.

A transfer ceremony was held at Tbilisi International Airport and attended by Defence Minister of Georgia Irakli Alasania and other dignitaries, including US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Norland.

Sergeant Kikadze went missing in Afghanistan on 19th December 2012. Following a 10-day search and rescue mission, his body was found on 29th December.

Sergeant Giorgi Kikadze was born in Borjomi on January 16, 1988. He joined the Georgian Armed Forces in 2009. After attending the basic combat training course in National Training Center “Krtsanisi”, Sergeant Kikadze was enlisted in the Artillery Battalion of II Infantry Brigade of GAF. He underwent a six-month pre-deployment training for the ISAF mission. He deployed to Afghanistan in October, 2012. This was his second deployment in Afghanistan.

Home at last - tears as six British Army KIA repatriated to Britain

The bodies of six soldiers killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan are repatriated to the UK.

Turkish soldiers killed in helicopter crash identified

A Turkish military aircraft transported the bodies of twelve military personnel killed in a helicopter crash, back to Turkey in the early hours of 18th March. On arrival at Etimesgut Military Airport, the bodies were transferred to Forensic Medicine Institution at Kecioren. Turkish officials have released the names of the crash victims:

Major Mithat Çolak
Major Şükür Bağdatlı
Major Serkan Dogan
Major Ismail Cem Yakinlar
Captain Adil Erdogan
Captain Ilker Aydin
Lieutenant Murat Yildiz
Lieutenant Tahsin Barutçu
Lieutenant Okan Melikoğlu
Sgt. Major Salih Helvacı
Sgt. Major Mehmet Akbas
Sergeant Onay Vurucu

Turkish military fatalities in Afghanistan

Repatriation of six British soldiers killed in Afghanistan

The bodies of six British soldiers killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan on 6th March arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Tuesday 20th March. Click here to view video of the repatriation.

The soldiers killed were Cpl Jake Hartley, Pte Anthony Frampton, Pte Christopher Kershaw, Pte Daniel Wade and Pte Daniel Wilford from 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment and Sgt Nigel Coupe from 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.

The plane will land at around 1:30pm and the cortege will pass by the Memorial Garden between 4:30pm and 5.00pm, reaching the John Radcliffe Hospital at around 6.00pm.

Norton Way will be closed from approx 1.00pm, whilst Station Road, Brize Norton, will be closed for approximately 10 minutes once the cortege leaves Britannia Gate at RAF Brize Norton.

There will be road closures in place at the Marston Ferry Road / Cherwell Drive Junction, Marston Road / Cherwell Drive Junction, and by mini roundabout by the entrance to the John Radcliffe Hospital. Please expect severe delays in this area whilst the road closures are in operation.

Please note that times are subject to change at short notice. Should the date and times change, we will update the information here.

Fallen Gurkha's family mourn a "born leader of men"

The family and friends of a soldier described as a “born leader of men” stood quietly yesterday, 7th January, as they watched his body repatriated to the UK.

Lance Corporal Gajbahadur Gurung, from the Royal Gurkha Rifles serving with the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, died after he received a fatal gunshot wound while on foot patrol in Afghanistan on 27th January.

The body of the 26-year-old was flown to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where, following a private ceremony, the cortege left to travel to Oxford.

Read full story at the Yorkshire Post

Repatriation to UK of Private John King

The repatriation of Private John King, from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, who was killed in action in December, will take place on Thursday 5th January 2012 at RAF Brize Norton.

The plane will land at approximately 14:00 and the cortege will pass by the Memorial Garden at around 16:00 arriving at the John Radcliffe Hospital around 17.00.

Norton Way will be closed from approx 11.45am, whilst Station Road, Brize Norton, will be closed for approximately 10 minutes once the cortege leaves Britannia Gate at RAF Brize Norton.

Repatriation of fallen Gurkha - Rifleman Vijay Rai

The repatriation of Rifleman Vijay Rai from 2nd Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, who was killed in action in Helmand province on 15th October, will take place at RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on Thursday 27th October 2011.

The plane carrying his body is due to land at 2pm. The cortege will pass the memorial garden at 4.30pm, reaching the John Radcliffe hospital at 5.15pm. All timings are approximate.

We will update this posting if any of the above details change. 

About British repatriations

The sad, but proud, duty of receiving British fallen military personnel killed in action, transferred to RAF Brize Norton from RAF Lyneham on 1st September 2011.

The deceased are flown back on a C-17 of RAF Number 99 Squadron where members of their families are waiting at a new purpose built Repatriation Centre. Senior Military Representatives, including the Station Commander, will also be in attendance.