From operations in Afghanistan, the repatriation of:
Sergeant Barry John Weston, K Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines
Sergeant Weston, of 30 Commando IX Group RM, assigned as a battle casualty replacement to 42 Commando RM, was fatally injured by an IED while leading a patrol near the village of Sukmanda, South Naher-e-Saraj District, Helmand Province, on 30th August, 2011.
Service veterans and members of the public turned out in the following “stations of vigil” to pay their respects to the fallen as the cortege made its way from RAF Brize Norton to the John Radcliffe Hospital at Oxford. .
Chequers Inn, Brize Norton, Station Road, Brize Norton Village
This report from Patrick Hopper, RMA
With the closure of RAF Lyneham, the route of the cortege to the John Radcliffe Hospital is of course much shorter and now only sees three “vigil points” on the way. The first, outside The Chequers pub, is on the road very close to Gate 6 of RAF Brize Norton, where the cortege leaves the base. The second point is the newly built Memorial Garden at Carterton and lastly, the only survivor from the previous route, The Final Turn near the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
At The Chequers, (not chosen just because it’s a pub, but also as it provides a safe open frontage on a quite narrow, but busy road), Royal Marines Association veterans assembled to pay their respects to Sgt Barry Weston and his family. There was a very good turnout. The RMA was represented by about 30 branch members from: RMA Central, Poole, Exeter, Swindon, Reading, Deal and Guildford. We also found a couple of ex-Royal Marines, quite a bit younger than most of us, having left the Corps only 11 years ago. They had come over from Gloucestershire and Cheshire. They were promptly relieved of £10 each and press-ganged into the RMA! Smart suits and berets. Well done, gentlemen. We were also pleased to see Major General Rose RM, who met and spoke with the members.
Uniformed serving members of the Corps were represented by 9 members of 30 Commando IX Group RM and about the same number from 42 Commando RM. This team split up, with the 42 Cdo RM contingent going over to join those at the Memorial Garden at Carterton, just up the road. There were quite a few other ex-servicemen present with us. A very substantial number of members of the public lined the route with us, at least 100.
There were eight RMA branch standards on parade: the RMA National standard, Deal, Exeter, Guildford, Poole, Reading, Swindon and The Green Beret Association.
At 1740hrs the cars bearing the family of Sergeant Weston passed by. The standards were dipped and all serving military personnel and veterans came to attention and saluted. A few minutes later the cortege passed by and the salute was repeated. We thank Jim Hawkins RMA for taking charge and ordering the salutes. We were very lucky with the weather, it being sunny and warm - quite a change from the rain and gales of the previous few days!
When we all repaired to the Chequers Inn, we were honoured to be visited shortly after by the parents of Sgt Barry Weston, his widow Joanne with baby Rose and other family members. They thanked everyone for their support and condolences.
On the way home after the parade, I was specially pleased to see members of the public standing on the two bridges over the A40 to Oxford, waiting to pay their respects to the cortege.
We say a sad “adieu” to all the previous vigil points at Wootton Bassett, Gable Cross, the B4000 Bridge, the UK Defence Academy and the Folly Hill lay-by, where folks have attended every repatriation for the past four years, lining the route to pay their respects. We specially thank those good souls who after each repatriation have sent us reports, for inclusion in the main report, which has worldwide distribution.
Memorial Garden, Carterton Village
We regret that at the time of writing, RMA Poole, who have compiled and distributed these reports for the past four years, has so far been unable to find a representative at the Memorial Garden to record those members of the family, the Royal British Legion, regimental associations, VIPs, service veterans and members of the public attending. We hope that this matter can be resolved by the time of the next repatriation.
John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford - near Anthony Padua Parish Church, Headley Way. (1855)
This report from John Walker, former RDG
We here at The Final Turn stood true and firm to honour this Royal Marine.
There were 13 Royal British Legion Standards: Bic ester, Bicester & Launton, Bodicote, Chalgrove, Headington, Hazelmere, Islip, Kidlington, Kidlington Womens Section, Peppard & District, Marston and Wheatley.
Association Standards included: The Coldstream Guards, Canal Zone (Oxon), Guards Division (Newbury), RAF Police, Royal Marines (Oxford), (Handworth) and (Windsor), The Royal Tank Regiment (Oxon) and The Banner of The Royal Dragoon Guards.
VIPs present were the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Cllr Elise Benjamin, the Very Rev Robert Wilkes, Father Aldo from St Anthony Padua Church and Colonel B. Duncan MBE, Royal Tank Regiment (Retd).
There were 55 veterans in berets and medals and 40 others from all three services and these were joined by eight Royal Marines in uniform. Thames Valley Police were out in force, doing their normal duties, as well as parading with us, under the command of Detective Chief Inspector Paul Gratian. We were also joined by Mary and John from the church (John having half-masted the Union flag that morning), four RBL Bikers - Martin, Rick and a couple of first timers, Yanto Evans and Taff Carr.
There were in excess of 400 members of the public at The Final Turn, with many more leading up the hill to us. Many hundreds were all around the ring road leading into the Marston area. Once again we thanks the veterans’ wives and partners who helped with the tea, coffee, home made cakes and biscuits.
The weather was kind, late sun at 180C. The cortege passed us by at 1835hrs.
The parade marshal was J. Lewendon (former RA). Graham Whelan (former Para) was lent as parade marshal to the new Memorial Garden at Carterton for a few repatriations, to guide them along.
Their Courage and Sacrifice Will Not Be Forgotten
Compiled by PH (The Duty Scribe)
On behalf of the Royal Marines Association
.............................................................................................................Arborfield Old Boys' Association
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