bigjarofwasps

Cheers Marcus, have ammended the Gulf loses.

TELL TELL

No I`d like to include Johny

Guys, if anyone has any additional info to add to this list, please post it below, so I can add it to the list. `Lest we forget`

A Royal Marine from 45 Commando died after a suicide bomber targeted a Nato patrol in Lashkar Gah on 19 October. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5121552.stm

Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts killed in Afghanistan 3 Sep 06 It is with deep regret that the MOD must confirm the death of Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts of the Parachute Regiment, who was killed following the crash of a RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft in Afghanistan on Saturday 2 September 2006. Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts joined the Parachute Regiment in 2000 and after completing his training in 2001 was posted to 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment in Dover. In addition to deploying on exercises to Kenya and the USA, he quickly accumulated a broad range of operational deployments. These included Iraq, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan and his operational performance was invariably of the highest order. Throughout his career he demonstrated ability beyond his age and rank. A loyal, brave, intelligent and dependable man he was an outstanding soldier with a bright future ahead of him. He will be sadly missed by all who had the good fortune to know him. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceN...Afghanistan.htm

Cheers Guys!!! as Blackadder says "If they had spears it used to make us think twice" How about with medal, and ground forces deployed. Did they get a gong for the 45 min war?

Below are the figures for fallen British servicmen/women in campaigns since WW2. Palastine- 233 S.E Asia Bomb & Mine clearance 45-49 Bomb & Mine clearance 45-56 Malaya - 519 Cyprus- 105 Near East 54 Arabian Penisular Brunei Canal Zone -22 Korea 1950-53 - 1,078. Borneo -16 Radfan- 24 South Arabia Malay Penisula South Vietnam Northern Ireland -719 (includes military deaths on UK mainland and Germany attributed to Irish terrorism) Dhofar - 24 Lebanon Kenya: 12 Gulf of Suez Gulf Kuwait N Iraq & S Turkey Air Ops Iraq Rhodesia South Atlantic -255 Gulf War -47 Former Yugoslavia -48 Sierra Leone Afganistan- on going Iraq War- on going

Has anyone any idea what the shortest ever British military campaign was? A real back home in time for tea and medals job!!!!

Medal protest at RIR disbandment An Ulster Unionist has handed over his service medal to Tony Blair in protest at the disbandment of three battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment. East Belfast assembly member Michael Copeland handed over his Ulster Defence Regiment medal and a letter of protest to Downing Street on Saturday. Mr Copeland said the cutbacks had aroused feelings of anger and betrayal. He said it was an "act of appeasement designed to entice murderers and terrorists" into democracy. The disbandment of the regiment's Northern Ireland-based battalions is part of the response to the IRA ending its armed campaign. But Mr Copeland said the government had an "ambiguous" attitude to terrorists. "I joined the Ulster Defence Regiment as a private soldier rising through the ranks before achieving the status of a commissioned officer," he said. "I did so because service with the regiment was the only avenue available to me through which I could contribute to the defence of my country, in the face of a most vociferous terrorist campaign. "Your government's decision has quite understandably aroused feelings of anger and betrayal." He said it was "with very great sadness" that he was handing in his general service medal. Mr Copeland also presented the prime minister with a book which details the story of the UDR and lists those murdered by terrorists. "I fully understand that emotion has little place in politics and must often be deferred to pragmatism," he added. "I remain, however, extremely concerned at the way in which the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Royal Irish learned of their fate and the continuing uncertainty regarding the settlement package that will be made available to them. "Personally speaking, I find the attitude of your government in its policies towards terrorists - be they foreign or domestic - ambiguous to say the least." The Northern Ireland-based battalions of the regiment are to be disbanded on 1 August 2007, the same day as the Army ends its support role to the police. More than 3,000 soldiers serve in the three battalions, many part-time. Troop levels in the province are to fall from 10,500 to 5,000 in two years time. The Royal Irish Regiment was formed in 1992, with the merger of the Royal Irish Rangers and the Ulster Defence Regiment.

Northern Ireland Future Allowances and Changes The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram): On 1 August 2005 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced the start of the normalisation programme outlined in the Joint Declaration. Stage 1 of this programme will be complete by 31 July 2007 and, at that time, operation banner will end. An allowances and charges package specific to the operational, security and welfare 20 July 2006 : Column 37WS circumstances of operation banner is currently in place. With the end of operation banner, however, Northern Ireland will no longer be classed as an operational theatre and, as a result, there will be a number of changes to the package. On 1 August 2007, personnel serving in Northern Ireland will commence payment of food and accommodation charges, and contributions in lieu of Council Tax on the same basis as those elsewhere in the United Kingdom and overseas. Other provisions associated with operational status will also cease, such as operational telephone allowance, welfare entertainment, free e-blueys and the award of operational medals. Other Northern Ireland-related allowances, including: Northern Ireland resident’s supplement, which is paid to all personnel serving on permanent assignment in Northern Ireland, in recognition of the impact of the security situation on them and their families; Northern Ireland journeys, which allows personnel and their accompanying families to return to Britain regularly to obtain respites from the pressures of living in Northern Ireland; and other lesser provisions will be retained for the time being, but will be kept under review as the normalisation programme progresses.

The General Service Medal clasp Northern Ireland, will no longer be awarded for service in Northern Ireland as of August 2007. This not only marks the end of this Campaign, but also the end of the GSM. The Operational Service Medal will there after take its place.

Hero soldier's body flies home Published on 07/10/2006 THE body of the Furness soldier killed during a bomb attack in Iraq is set to be flown home tomorrow a week after he died. Lance Corporal Den Brady’s mother Brenda, of Vulcan Road, Barrow, is expected to travel to RAF Brize Norton, Carterton, Oxfordshire, to be there when her son arrives. No date for the 37-year-old’s funeral has been set. Ministry of Defence spokeswoman, Penny Veal, said she was unsure if the family had decided on a full military tribute. More information is due to be released on Monday. L Cpl Brady, a reservist medic, was killed by mortar rounds fired at the base his unit were trying to protect on October 1. Funeral honour Published on 11/10/2006 A FULL military funeral is set to take place next week to honour the Furness soldier killed in an Iraqi blast. Lance Corporal Den Brady lost his life 10 days ago when his compound in northern Basra was hit by a barrage of mortars. The 37-year-old later died in hospital. It is expected that local dignitaries and representatives from L Cpl’s Brady’s regiment will join relatives in paying their respects. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that at the moment a full military funeral was set to take place next Tuesday at midday in Barrow. They added that they were not releasing any further details at this time as arrangements were still being made. Guard of honour for hero soldier Published on 14/10/2006 A GUARD of honour will escort a hero soldier and The Last Post will sound as he is laid to rest on Tuesday. Lance Corporal Den Brady lost his life in a mortar attack on his base in northern Basra on October 1. His body was flown back from Iraq last Sunday to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. An army spokesman confirmed that the 37-year-old, of Vulcan Road, Barrow, would be buried with full military honours, and the service will begin at midday at St George’s Church, The Strand, Barrow. The L/Cpl’s coffin will be draped in a Union Flag and have three soldier bearers on each side, with another walking behind. As L/Cpl Brady was an army medical reservist he was not attached to any regiment but members of the 5 General Support Medical Regiment based at Fulwood Barracks, Preston, will form the bearer party. At 12.45pm, approximately, the funeral party will move to Barrow Cemetery, Thorncliffe Road, where L/Cpl Brady will be buried.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CP) - The names of two soldiers killed Saturday in a fierce ambush were released Sunday by Canadian military officials here. Sgt. Darcy Tedford and Pte. Blake Williamson were both with the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. Their hometowns were not immediately available. The two were killed when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded over their heads west of Kandahar. They were guarding a road being built by Canadians that would link the violent Panjwaii district with a main highway that has been a prime target for insurgent attacks. The fallen soldiers will be honoured in a special ceremony in Kandahar before making their final journey home, but the exact timing was not released. Two other soldiers wounded in the attack were in hospital Sunday, in serious but non-critical condition. The Canadians were attacked while patrolling an unfinished four-kilometre road to link the Panjwaii district about 20 kilometres west of Kandahar with a main highway. The vital artery would allow safer passage for troops and local Afghan people. But it has proven to be a treacherous gauntlet for troops ambushed or killed by bombs in recent weeks. Soldiers in the region say there just aren't enough of them to properly clear the area of insurgents who've stepped up attacks since a major three-week offensive against the Taliban last month was declared a success by NATO. Six Canadians have died along the unfinished road or the 16-square-kilometre area around it since late September. "The Taliban don't like roads because roads mean progress," said Brig.-Gen. David Fraser, the Canadian and NATO commander in southern Afghanistan. "And the Taliban only want to destroy." Forty-two Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have now died in Afghanistan since 2002. About 2,300 Canadian troops are based in Kandahar province.

Many thanks for this very interesting thread. Cheers for sharing it with us!!!!

Lance Corporal Dennis Brady was hit in an "indirect fire attack" at the Shatt Al-Arab Hotel after mortars landed inside the UK base in Basra, southern Iraq, on 1 October. The 37-year-old, from Cumbria, was a regular reservist from the Royal Army Medical Corps, attached to the 1st Battalion of the Light Infantry. L/Cpl Brady grew up in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where he lived with his wife, Zoe. He left the regular Army in 2004 and worked as a firefighter before volunteering to return to the military as a reservist. His commanding officer, Lt Col Johnny Bowron, said: "His loss will be keenly felt, and the battalion has lost a trusted member and a real friend." SOLDIER Dennis Brady’s mum received birthday flowers from her son in Iraq the day before learning of his death. And the Lance Corporal was just two weeks from coming home to Barrow when he was killed in a mortar attack. LANCE Corporal Den Brady’s wife is today mourning a man she says “died a hero.” Zoe Brady, 30, of Barrow, has been married to the 37-year-old Army medic for six years but they have been separated for some time. They have no children. Speaking exclusively to the Evening Mail, she said: “Den lived life to the full. He put 100 per cent into everything he did. “His death will leave huge voids with every body who loved him. “Words cannot express how much he will be missed. “He died a hero.” British soldier killed in Basra A British soldier has been killed and another injured during an attack at a UK base in Basra, southern Iraq, the Ministry of Defence has said. The two soldiers were said to have been hit in an "indirect fire attack" at the Shatt Al-Arab Hotel after mortars landed inside the base perimeter. The dead soldier was from the Royal Army Medical Corps. The soldiers' names have not yet been released by the MoD. The death on Sunday brings the British death toll in Iraq to 119. A British military spokesman in Basra about 15 mortars were fired at the base, with three or four landing inside the perimeter. The soldiers were taken to hospital, where one later died. The other suffered a broken arm, the spokesman said. http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceN...illedInIraq.htm

http://members.shaw.ca/kcic1/peacekeepers.html

There was no change in the trading pattern on the bullion market today as gold notched up further ground on sustained buying and silver moved up on the local support. Marketmen said the gold prices continued to gain in day-to-day buying by retail customers and stockists influenced by a firm trend in the overseas markets. The yellow metal in other Asian markets hovered around $ 321 an ounce from previous level of $ 318. They said worries over the potential repeat of any terrorist attack together with continued attempts by the USA to draw up support for attacking Iraq lent gold a good bullish tone. Standard gold and ornaments gained further by Rs.20 each at Rs 5,300 and Rs 5,150 per 10 gram. Sovereign also jumped up by Rs 75 at Rs 4,150 per piece of eight gram. While silver ready rose by Rs 45 at Rs 7,770 per kilo and weekly-based delivery by Rs 40 at Rs 7,780 per kilo, silver coins gathered fresh support from the local parties and registered a gain of Rs 100 at Rs 11,600/11,700 per 100 pieces. The following were today’s quotations: Silver ready 7,770 and delivery 7,780. Standard gold 5.300, ornaments 5,150 and sovereign 4,150.

Oil and gold prices jumped on Monday and stock prices fell as the standoff between the United States and Iraq and the impending anniversary of the September 11 attacks spooked investors. The dollar pushed higher against the euro and yen, extending gains made after Friday’s upbeat U.S. jobs data, but worries over possible U.S. action against Iraq kept the market nervous. Interest rate futures slid after European Central Bank President Wim Duisenberg said at the weekend that euro zone monetary policy was appropriate for the foreseeable future. Gold, viewed as a safe haven in times of geopolitical turmoil, topped the $320 an ounce mark for the first time since July with investors anxiously awaiting the anniversary of the attacks on New York and Washington. “The current environment remains clearly supportive to gold... The potential for major terrorist attacks remains extremely high,” said Kamal Naqvi, metals analyst at the Macquarie Research. The oil prices rose in Asia for the fourth consecutive session on fears that any escalation in the West Asia violence could disrupt supplies from the region, which accounts for two-thirds of the world crude reserves. Brent crude futures for October delivery were 13 cents higher at $28.42 a barrel. Nervousness over a possible U.S. attack on Iraq also helped push European stocks lower, though dealers also blamed profit-taking after sharp price rises on Friday. “The move on Friday was very strong, largely due to short-covering, and we are seeing some profit-taking today, though the main worry of the market remains Iraq,” said Thierry Lacraz, a European strategist at Geneva-based bank Pictet & Cie.

Gold price sparks a new rush Gold is coming back into fashion, not as jewellery but as bars and sovereigns. More and more people, wearied by plunging share prices, poor returns on savings and a possible crash in the housing market, are looking at gold as an alternative investment. Fears about war with Iraq have helped push up the price to about $360 an ounce and bounced the precious metal back into the headlines. And that has woken up ordinary investors in the UK who had forgotten about gold. Selling krugerrands "Nobody ever hears about the gold market out on the street until war breaks out," says Jeremy Kyd, trading manager at the bullion merchants Baird & Co. "It's supposed to be a shiny thing, it's supposed to have this flight to quality, people see it as a safe haven, it used to back currencies; and gold is still there." Mr Kyd says that since the beginning of this year the company has seen a 20% increase in general enquiries about buying the precious metal. The high price has also encouraged selling: "We have seen quite a few people coming out of the woodwork selling the krugerrands they got in the sixties." Piling in Baird's customers are generally companies investing large amounts of money in gold bars. But individuals can buy gold coins ranging in price from ?24 to several hundred pounds. Anyone wanting to buy gold bars has to be an account holder with a minimum of $5,000 to invest. "A lot of people are piling their money into gold at the moment," says Justin Modray, investment manager at the independent financial advisers RJ Temple. For the first time that he can remember, clients have been coming for financial advice and mentioning gold as a possible investment. "It tends to be a relatively good bet at the moment because gold is a good hedge against stock markets, and cash is paying not particularly good returns at the moment." He says that gold sovereigns are the main way of investing. Jewellery is not such a good option because you pay a premium for the workmanship. Gold bars are the next step up, but an investor will also have to pay ?100 or more a year to keep them in storage. Beating the stock market There is another way to invest in gold without buying the precious metal itself - through a unit trust. The Merrill Lynch Gold and General Trust rose 53% last year while world stock markets were falling. The fund invests in gold mining company shares and has a small holding in platinum and silver equities. Richard Davis, who manages the fund, says interest from investors has increased over the last year and more particularly in the last few weeks. The fund invests in gold shares rather than the metal itself because the potential gains are greater. "When the gold price goes up the shares go up. If the gold price rises by 10%, gold shares rise by 30% to 50%," says Mr Davis. "But it's the same on the downside. If the gold price falls 10%, the shares will fall by 30% to 50%." Selling off gold reserves It is not just the fear of war with Iraq that has pushed gold higher. The price peaked at $850 an ounce in January 1980 when the oil price was very strong and Middle East producers invested in gold. But the price fell back and was further hit in the 1990s when many of the world's central banks were selling off their gold reserves. An agreement in 1999 to limit the amount of gold they sold onto the markets helped the metal to regain its lustre. But until now there has not been any demand from individual investors. Getting caught out "There's a whole lot of people paying interest to gold: it's like a market waiting to be tapped by somebody. "What it really needs is for one of the major High Street banks to re-adopt sales of gold over the counter," says Kevin Crisp, precious metal strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. In Germany it is possible to buy small gold bars and coins and open gold accounts in bank branches. But anyone thinking of moving their money into the precious metal should beware. "Gold is not a panacea. However, as part of a portfolio it can play a role," says Mr Crisp. And Mr Modray warns that, all too often, investors can get caught out by the markets. "The majority of people tend to chase performance when it comes to investment."

"In Desert Storm, American pilots carried them in case they were downed over Iraq. The front of the coin honors King Edward VII. The reverse shows the mythical "Saint George slaying the dragon" design found on a variety of official British coins."

"Today British Sovereigns are known and recognized worldwide. They were used as emergency money by World War II Allied pilots. Even in the recent Iraqi War, American pilots carried these historic gold coins in case they were downed over Iraq."

"Often called ‘kings’, the British Gold Sovereign has been considered one of the world’s most popular coins and were often included in the survival kits of American Pilots during the second world war. Soldiers in Iraq have been known to carry them also."

"British Sovereigns also have a fascinating military history. For decades, they were recognized worldwide as "emergency money." During World War II, Allied pilots carried British Gold Sovereigns in their survival kits and did American pilots in case they are downed over Iraq."

5 Dinar Coin.