Medal honour as troops come home

Picture: L/Cpl Christopher Harkett's widow and father collected the Elizabeth Cross

Wales has welcomed back 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh after six months in Afghanistan.

Charlie Company paraded through Cardiff city centre after a tour which saw them involved in various missions.

Tributes were paid to L/Cpl Christopher Harkett, 22, of Pontardawe, who died after an explosion in Helmand.

His wife Danielle was presented with the Elizabeth Cross, given to the families of service personnel killed on operations or in acts of terrorism.

L/Cpl Harkett died after an explosion near Musa Qala on March 14, a month after the company was deployed.

He trained as a medic, a gunner and a signaller and the Army said he had had a bright future, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.

Campaign medals were presented to the soldiers by four Welsh members of the British and Irish Lions rugby union squad.

They were addressed by First Minister Rhodri Morgan, who said "words cannot convey the honour" of welcoming C-Company home after a period of intense fighting.

Crowds lined the streets as 131 members of the company marched from City Hall with a regimental band and colours flying.

Hundreds more inside Cardiff castle, including friends, relatives and former service people, cheered when they entered the grounds.

The march follows one by the 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards, who paraded through Cardiff on their 50th anniversary at the end of July.

C-Company, which is is based in Lucknow Barracks, Tidworth, Wiltshire, but recruits from the whole of Wales, and it helped secure territory ahead of this week's elections.

Major Nigel Crewe-Read, officer commanding C-Company, said: "I think the overriding feeling we've had is success and not without sacrifices and L/Cpl Christopher Harkett and his family are at the forefront of our minds.

"We've defeated the Taliban whenever we've come across them and then seen the Afghan population get back up and running, re-establish schools, have power supplies, and we've ensured the Afghan security forces take ownership of the situation.

"We can reflect on a job well done."

Mr Morgan said the people of Wales should be proud of C-Company's "great courage and determination".

"While we celebrate their homecoming and safe return to their families and friends we should remember those who have lost their lives in the conflict," he said.

"We will remember, in particular L/Cpl Christopher Harkett, who should be marching through the streets of Cardiff with his comrades and our thoughts are with his family."

Large crowds welcome soldiers back from Afghanistan

Picture - 2 Royal Welsh soldiers boarding a UK Chinook

THOUSANDS of people lined the streets of the Welsh capital today to welcome home troops from their latest tour of Afghanistan.

Soldiers from Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh, marched from Cardiff’s City Hall to the grounds of Cardiff Castle where a ceremony is being held in their honour.

The soldiers have recently returned from six months of fighting in Afghanistan and took part in Operation Panther’s Claw during a bloody tour that claimed the life of one of their comrades.

Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett, 22, from Pontardawe, Swansea, was killed in a blast near Musa Qala, in Northern Helmand, on March 14.

L/Cpl Harkett, whose family are at today’s ceremony, was deployed to Afghanistan as a sniper after two tours in Iraq.

At the time of his death, fellow soldiers described how he died after moving ahead to allow colleagues to advance.

This afternoon, a commemorative service was followed by the presentation of the Elizabeth Cross and Victoria Scroll to LCpl Harkett’s family.

Speaking at the event early this afternoon, First Minister Rhodri Morgan said: “It is an incredible honour for me to welcome back C Company the 2nd Battalion Royal Welsh on behalf of the people of Wales.

“Behind every soldier is a family, behind every family is a village and behind every village is Wales.

“We thank you.”

Commanding officer Major Nigel Crewe-Read said: “I think the overriding feeling we’ve had is success, and not without sacrifices and L/Cpl Christopher Harkett and his family are at the forefront of our minds.”

C-Company helped secure territory in Helmand province ahead of this week’s elections as part of 19 Light Brigade.

Maj Crewe-Read added: “We’ve defeated the Taliban whenever we’ve come across them and then seen the Afghan population get back up and running, re-establish schools, have power supplies, and we’ve ensured the Afghan security forces take ownership of the situation.

“We can reflect on a job well done.”

Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett killed in Afghanistan

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence confirms the death of Lance Coporal Christopher Harkett of 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh who was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 14 March 2009.

Lance Corporal Christopher Harkett, aged 22, from Pontardawe in Swansea, died as a result of an explosion near Musa Qaleh in Afghanistan on the morning of Saturday 14 March 2009. He was part of a foot patrol from C Company the 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh who are working to help extend and enforce the writ of the Government of Afghanistan.

LCpl Harkett was trained at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate and subsequently at Catterick before joining the Battalion in March 2004 in Paderborn, Germany. He started in B (Rorke's Drift) Company and soon afterwards deployed with them to Iraq where he did exceptionally well.

He trained as a Team Medic so that he could look after his mates if they were injured, trained as a Warrior Gunner so that he could defend himself and his colleagues, and later qualified as a signaller so that he could ensure that critical information was passed to the Headquarters as soon as possible.

Being an intelligent man LCpl Harkett was always quick to learn, but he was also very dedicated and keen to help. He showed great promise and earlier than normal, was selected for a promotion cadre in September 2005. He was promoted to Lance Corporal the following January.
LCpl Harkett then transferred to the elite Reconnaissance Platoon as he was an experienced and very able soldier, and deployed with them on a very demanding and dangerous tour in Iraq in 2007 where again he did very well.He was one of the first to volunteer to deploy with his mates to Afghanistan as a sniper. He had already had a full and successful career and had a very bright future ahead of him, just like his father and grandfather before him.

LCpl Harkett was very much a son of the Regiment and has been known by many as a boy and now as a man. His grandfather joined the 2nd Battalion the South Wales Borderers in 1946 and earned a commendation on operations in Malaya; his father joined the Royal Regiment of Wales in 1984 and had an excellent career over 26 years reaching Warrant Officer Class 1.

LCpl Harkett was born only two years after his father joined the Regiment in 1986 and has grown up with many of today's soldiers or their children. He was always at the centre of the fun and was always liked by those who met him.He was a keen and active boy gaining all sorts of awards for outdoor pursuits and playing football in a local league. It was natural for him to join his father's Regiment as soon as he could which is what he did as a boy soldier in December 2002.