Dead British soldiers return home from Afghanistan

A British Army soldier killed in Afghanistan has been named as Rifleman Stuart Nash. Rifleman Nash, from the 1st Battalion The Rifles, died after he was hit by enemy fire while covering comrades from a rooftop in southern Helmand on Thursday. An Australian national, he was born in Sydney and only joined the regiment in March this year. His parents, Bill and Amanda Nash, said: "We are shattered, of course, by the news but Stuart was doing what he most wanted to do in life, having harboured a wish for a military career since joining the cadets at the age of 13. "He went to the UK to join up to get a better opportunity to do real soldiering, which he has done, if only briefly. "He was a willing volunteer. Our soldiers have chosen their profession and we are, and will remain, proud of their willingness to make these sacrifices for the security of all of us who remain at home." Rifleman Nash is the 134th British serviceman to die in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001. Earlier, the bodies of five soldiers also killed fighting the Taliban were repatriated at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire. Up to 1,000 people watched a cortege of hearses make its way through the high street of nearby Wootton Bassett and pause at the local war memorial for a minute's silence. Sergeant John Manuel, 38, from Gateshead, Corporal Marc Birch, 26, from Kingsthorpe, Northamptonshire, and 27-year-old Marine Damian Davies, from Telford - all Royal Marines - were killed by a 13-year-old suicide bomber in Helmand Province on Friday. Earlier that day, Lance Corporal Steven Fellows, 28, of 45 Commando died from injuries suffered when an explosion hit his vehicle while on patrol in Sangin. The fifth man, Lieutenant Aaron Lewis, 26, of 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery was fatally wounded on Monday when the gun position he was commanding in the Gereshk area of Helmand Province came under attack. Crowds of Royal British Legion members, shopkeepers, ex-servicemen and their families have gathered spontaneously along the route ever since the first bodies began coming home last year.

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ITN | December 18, 2008

Tags:. .repatriated. .hearses. .wiltshire. .bassett. .helmand