bigjarofwasps

Lieutenant Tom Tanswel, 27, of 58 Battery 12 Regiment Royal Artillery, was killed in a road accident just outside Shaibah Logistics Base near the city of Basra, southern Iraq, on 27 October 2006. The total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq has risen to 120 after a soldier died following a road accident just outside Shaibah Logistics Base near the city of Basra on 27 October 2006. Lieutenant Tom Tanswell, 27, of 58 Battery 12 Regiment Royal Artillery, was killed in a road accident just outside Shaibah Logistics Base near the city of Basra, southern Iraq, on 27 October 2006. The Londoner joined the Army in 2004 after gaining a degree in management and marketing from the University of Manchester, and working as the area manager for a major supermarket group. In Iraq, he was a multiple commander, responsible for 12 men, manning three vehicles. The MoD said he often escorted Danish Military Police and reconstruction teams and was well-liked by his peers. His commanding officer in Iraq, Major Marcus Tivey, said: "He was leading from the front when he was killed, which typified the way he conducted himself. "Prior to deploying to Iraq Tom had been praised by his superiors on numerous exercises, and while on operations he had made his mark as a rising star."

Have you seen this? 'Gold teeth stolen while owner slept' A Florida man claims someone reached into his mouth and stole his gold teeth as he slept. Bryan Osteen, of Mims, Brevard Country, rang police to complain about the theft, reports Local6.com News. Osteen told officers that someone entered his bedroom and took the ?40 teeth out of his mouth. He said he had friends at his home and believes one of them had something to do with the crime. Osteen said he did not wake up because he is a heavy sleeper, according to a Brevard County Sheriff's Office report.

Came across this whilst surfing the net thought it might be of interest....... Egyptians To Sue 'The Jews' Over 'Stolen' Exodus Gold Egypt, the enlightened locale for last year's ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' television program, is now the source of even more anti-Semitic hatred. According to MEMRI.org, a group of Egyptians living in Switzerland, is planning to sue ''all the Jews of the world'' over gold that was allegedly stolen during the biblical exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. While this bigotry is infuriating, the utter ludicrousness of it all makes it read more like a comedy sketch. Seriously, you couldn't make this stuff up! The August 9, 2003 edition of the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi featured an interview with Dr. Nabil Hilmi, dean of the faculty of law at the University of Al-Zaqaziq. The following are excerpts from the interview: Dr. Hilmi: ''. Since the Jews make various demands of the Arabs and the world, and claim rights that they base on historical and religious sources, a group of Egyptians in Switzerland has opened the case of the so-called 'great exodus of the Jews from Pharaonic Egypt.' At that time, they stole from the Pharaonic Egyptians gold, jewelry, cooking utensils, silver ornaments, clothing, and more, leaving Egypt in the middle of the night with all this wealth, which today is priceless.'' Question: ''What will the group of Egyptians in Switzerland do about this issue?'' Hilmi: ''Dr. Gamil Yaken, vice president of the Egyptian community in Switzerland, came to Egypt to collect information. We set up a legal team to prepare the necessary legal confrontation aimed at restoring what the Jews stole a long time ago, to which the statute of limitations cannot possibly apply. Furthermore, [the theft] is based on their holy book, the same source on which they relied when they invaded other peoples. ''The Egyptian Pharaoh was surprised one day to discover thousands of Egyptian women crying under the palace balcony, asking for help and complaining that the Jews stole their clothing and jewels, in the greatest collective fraud history has ever known. ''The theft was not limited to gold alone. The thieves stole everything imaginable. They emptied the Egyptian homes of cooking utensils. One of the women approached Pharaoh, her eyes downcast, and said that her Jewish neighbor who lived in the house on the right of her house had come to her and asked to borrow her gold items, claiming she had been invited to a wedding. The Jewish neighbor took [the items] and promised to return them the next day. A few minutes later, the neighbor to the left knocked on the door and asked to borrow the cooking utensils, because she was having guests for dinner. Using this same deceitful system, they took possession of all the cooking utensils.'' Question: ''It is clear why they stole the gold, but why the cooking utensils?'' Hilmi: ''Taking posession of the gold was understandable. This is clear theft of a host country's resources and treasure, something that fits the morals and character of the Jews. Yet what was not clear to the Egyptian women were the reasons for stealing the cooking utensils, when other things may have been of greater value. However, one of the Egyptian priets said that this had been the Jews' twisted way throughout history; they seek to cause a minor problem connected with the needs of everyday life so as to occupy people with these matters and prevent them from pursuing them to get back the stolen gold... ''A police investigation revealed that Moses and Aaron, peace be upon them, understood that it was impossible to live in Egypt, despite its pleasures and even though the Egyptians included them in every activity, due to the Jews' perverse nature, to which the Egyptians had reconciled themselves, though with obvious unwillingness. Therefore, an order was issued by the Jewish rabbis to flee the country, and that the exodus should be secret and under cover of darkness and with the largest possible amount of loot. The code word was 'At midnight.' In addition, the Jewish women were told to steal the gold and cooking utensils of the Egyptian women, and that is what happened.'' Question: ''Did they leave individually or as a group?'' Hilmi: ''They left in a convoy of 600,000, that is, about 120,000 families. There were a few wagons in the convoy, and a long line of donkeys loaded with the stolen goods. They crossed the desert in the heart of Sinai, in an attempt to confuse Pharaoh's army, which was on their trail. Later they rested and began to count the stolen gold, and discovered that it reached 300,000 kg of gold.'' Question: ''So what arguments can be made in support of getting back our stolen gold?'' Hilmi: ''There are two types of claims, one religious and the other legal. From a religious standpoint, all monotheistic religions have called not to steal. It is also in the Ten Commandments, which the Jews were ordered [to observe]. Therefore, they have a basic religious obligation to return what was stolen, if it exists. ''From a legal standpoint, fleeing with the Egyptians' goods could be for the purpose of borrowing or for the purpose of stealing. If it is for the purpose of borrowing, legally it has a temporary dimension, not a permanent dimension, and therefore they must return [the gold], with interest, to its owners. ''On the other hand, if the Jews took the goods from the Egyptians not for the purpose of borrowing it but to keep them for themselves, by legal norms this is theft, and therefore they must return the stolen goods to their owners, in addition to the interest for its use over the entire period of the theft.'' Question: ''What do you think is the value of the gold, silver, and clothing that was stolen, and how do you calculate their value today?'' Hilmi: ''If we assume that the weight of what was stolen was one ton, [its worth] doubled every 20 years, even if the annual interest is only 5%. In one ton of gold is 700 kg of pure gold - and we must remember that what was stolen was jewelry, that is, alloyed with copper. Hence, after 1,000 years, it would be worth 1,125,898,240 million tons, which equals 1,125,898 billion tons for 1,000 years. In other words, 1,125 trillion tons of gold, that is, a million multiplied by a million tons of gold. This is for one stolen ton. The stolen gold is estimated at 300 tons, and it was not stolen for 1,000 years, but for 5,758 years, by the Jewish reckoning. Therefore, the debt is very large. ''The value must be calculated precisely in accordance with the information collected, and afterward a lawsuit must be filed against all the Jews of the world, and against the Jews of Israel in particular, so they will repay the Egyptians the debt that appears in the Torah.'' Question: ''Is a compromise solution possible?'' Hilmi: ''There may be a compromise solution. The debt can be rescheduled over 1,000 years, with the addition of the cumulative interest during that period.''

It now appears that the MOD have sold off all their Sovereigns, and replaced them with ounce Krugerrands. The thinking behind it I believe is that Sovereigns would suggest to the enemy that the soldier/airman was British were as the use of Krugerrand would suggest otherwise. Also they appear only to be issued with about 5 Krugerrands as apposed to 20 Sovereigns, which I suppose is easier to hide round the body, however, a Krugerrand being valued at about ?350 & a Sovereign at about ?80, means that I suppose you`d get less for your money, and you`d have to want something pretty bad, in order to part with a Krugerrand, we`d have to be talking passage over the border or buying a vehicle, as apposed to say some food or the like which a Sovereign would buy? But having said that if your in the sh#t, then gold talks whatever its face value.

Period US UK Other* Total Avg Days 10-2006 90 1 2 93 3.88 24 9-2006 71 3 2 76 2.53 30 8-2006 65 1 0 66 2.13 31 7-2006 43 1 2 46 1.48 31 6-2006 61 0 2 63 2.1 30 5-2006 69 9 1 79 2.55 31 4-2006 76 1 5 82 2.73 30 3-2006 31 0 2 33 1.06 31 2-2006 55 3 0 58 2.07 28 1-2006 62 2 0 64 2.06 31 12-2005 68 0 0 68 2.19 31 11-2005 84 1 1 86 2.87 30 10-2005 96 2 1 99 3.19 31 9-2005 49 3 0 52 1.73 30 8-2005 85 0 0 85 2.74 31 7-2005 54 3 1 58 1.87 31 6-2005 78 1 4 83 2.77 30 5-2005 80 2 6 88 2.84 31 4-2005 52 0 0 52 1.73 30 3-2005 35 1 3 39 1.26 31 2-2005 58 0 2 60 2.14 28 1-2005 107 10 10 127 4.1 31 12-2004 72 1 3 76 2.45 31 11-2004 137 4 0 141 4.7 30 10-2004 63 2 2 67 2.16 31 9-2004 80 3 4 87 2.9 30 8-2004 66 4 5 75 2.42 31 7-2004 54 1 3 58 1.87 31 6-2004 42 1 7 50 1.67 30 5-2004 80 0 4 84 2.71 31 4-2004 135 0 5 140 4.67 30 3-2004 52 0 0 52 1.68 31 2-2004 20 1 2 23 0.79 29 1-2004 47 5 0 52 1.68 31 12-2003 40 0 8 48 1.55 31 11-2003 82 1 27 110 3.67 30 10-2003 44 1 2 47 1.52 31 9-2003 31 1 1 33 1.1 30 8-2003 35 6 2 43 1.39 31 7-2003 48 1 0 49 1.58 31 6-2003 30 6 0 36 1.2 30 5-2003 37 4 0 41 1.32 31 4-2003 74 6 0 80 2.67 30 3-2003 65 27 0 92 7.67 12 Total 2803 119 119 3041 2.31 1315

Cheers E, thats a smashing collection. My Dad is entitled to three of the medlas in your collection.

WOW!!!!!!! Cheers guys!!!!!!!!!

Cheers Dave thats really interesting thanks for sharing it with us!!!!

Cheers Guys, thats really interesting, thanks!!!!!!!

Anyone under British command, D.O.W, friendly fire, accidents, etc,etc.

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!!!!