Escort for Heroes, sign the No.10 petition

[airborne_artist]

You may have seen the press coverage of hearses stuck in traffic, carrying the bodies of those KIA, and noticed how badly this compared with the reception in Canada and other NATO countries for similar casualties.

Sign the No 10 petition, and perhaps people will take notice.

Link here (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/escortforheroes/)

The wording of the petition is:

"The bodies of British servicemen and women killed overseas are flown to RAF Lyneham.

The hearses carrying the bodies receive no special escort once they leave the county of Wiltshire, normally bound for the mortuary at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.


It is an insult to these brave people and their families that their hearses should travel un-escorted on their journey through the country that these men and women served and died for.


The signatories to this petition request that the Ministry of Defence, in co-ordination with local Chief Constables, arrange for a formal escort for the bodies of all those Servicemen and women, unless the next-of-kin request otherwise."

[Beagle-eye]

Signed...........

[PingDit]

Good idea. Signed.

[scribbler614]

Thanks to media coverage (namely in the Mail on Sunday), Thames Valley Police have had a re-think, and are now once again providing escorts once the hearses cross the county line into Oxon.
For the time being they're using marked police cars, as all their motorbikes are out of action. Once new fleet of bikes is delivered in June, they'll be back to bikes.
No harm signing the petition, but it looks like the objective has been achieved - provided TVPolice stick to their word...
:D

[Dan D'air]

Signed it as soon as I read it in the Telegraph today.

[airborne_artist]

Scribbler - I set this up before the TVP re-think, but the No.10 petition process moves at the speed of Mr Browns's tax u-turns...., it took about ten days from my submission to approval, which came through earlier today.

All the same, we wouldn't want TVP, or any other Force, to lose interest. Let's face it, UK troops will be in Afghanistan for at least the next five years.

[Sentry Agitator]

It might make this government think about everything else as well?

Correct level of compensation for returning injured and appropriate rehab facilities as well being 2 issues.....

One can but hope?

SA

[Pilot Pacifier]

Signed! Good on yeah whoever set it up!

[Cornerstone958]

Happy to sign

[FormerFlake]

The bodies of British servicemen and women killed overseas are flown to RAF Lyneham.

When did it change from Brize?






Signed.

[old developer]

Duly Signed

FF... April last year

[wrecker]

Signed
Well done instigator

[moosemaster]

I have signed and have posted links on some of the "civilian" forums I belong to, however the response was not as I'd hoped.

The majority of the responses I've received so far show just how mis-informed the great British public are about the military.

Of 9 comments, 6 were saying it isn't the responsibility of the civilian police, and why can't the home unit provide its own escorts. I have naturally posted suitable replies, but thought I'd share this experience with my fellow pruners.

It is indeed a sad assessment of British society that the "It's not my responsibility" attitude seems to have ingrained itself so completely.

I'm glad I don't live in it any longer.

[Solid Rust Twotter]

Moose:

How does one sign as a non resident/foreigner?







Apologies if it's a bone question.

[EGGP]

Signed. If the Canadians can do it there is no excuse.

[Duncan D'Sorderlee]

Signed.

Duncs

[brit bus driver]

Signed. Living in the TVP area - and having had the joy of negotiating the Oxford ring road these past 2 years - I was utterly dismayed at the stance of TVP.

It was even more galling having served with the Canadians on the fleet responsible for the repatriations into Trenton. I've driven the 401 many times and it's no mean feat to close it off I'm sure. I'm glad to see that they still know how to do things properly (as do the good people of Wooton Bassett I have to say).

Let's hope that TVP keep their promise; I assume the leader of the opposition is keeping a watchful eye on things as it passes through his AOR.

[althenick]

Signed, Good on whoever got this one started

[Winch-control]

Signed, shame it was ever needed......

[Shack37]

SRT

Select "expatriate" and enter your forrin address.

Signed
s37

[Ramage21]

Signed

Pity TVPol had to be shamed into providing an escort. Sign of the times.

[MINself]

...signed in disgust at the treatment received by our British war dead.... shame on the MOD.

[Kazamb]

Signed its the least i could do!

[brit bus driver]

To be fair, I'm not sure that the MOD is to blame for this. More likely the local Chief Constable, or perhaps the Home Office.

[10enggone]

Can only echo what has been said before that TVP had to be shamed into this and why was it not a government directive?

Think it's the lack of awareness of the British public that allows this to have happened for so long.

Like the Canadians, Americans et al the agreement with the war may not exist in the majority but chances are the dead didn't agree completely they however died for what the elected Government did agree with/to and as such should be honoured for their sacrifice and putting their lives on the line for their comrades and friends in that front line scenario.

[airborne_artist]

BBD - The MoD brings the bodies back, the MoD books the hearses, the MoD books them to go to the JR, so how hard is it to place one more call to Thames Valley Police? The MoD gives the impression of not caring, in my opinion.

[brit bus driver]

AA - Agreed. Don't get me wrong, my email on this subject is sitting in David Cameron's inbox. But, I'm not sure that MoD can insist that TVP provides an escort in the same way that Wilts Police choose to do. I just hope that whoever is asking is placing the appropriate emphasis on the question.

[sapper]

Signed..........disgusted

As a point of interest. It used to be that our returning KIA came under the jurisdiction of the Coroner of the County the aircraft landed ie. Brize = Oxfordshire = Oxford.
Lynham is Wiltshire, why then are they crossing into Oxon????

Spr

[Plot finder]

Sapper hope this answers your question............

Coroners are independent judicial officers appointed and paid for by the relevant local authority. Their officers and staff are employed by the local authority and/or the police.

Each death of a serviceman or woman killed in an operation overseas whose body is repatriated to England and Wales is subject to an inquest. The inquest both the investigation into the death and the holding of the public hearing into the death is conducted by the coroner with jurisdiction which derives from where the body lies.

In the case of deaths of servicemen and women whose bodies were flown into RAF Brize Norton until it ceased to be used for repatriations on 31 March 2007, the Oxfordshire coroner, Nicholas Gardiner, has had initial jurisdiction. In the case of deaths of servicemen and women whose bodies have been flown into RAF Lyneham since 1 April 2007, the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner, David Masters, has initial jurisdiction.

The coroner has powers under the Coroners Act 1988 to transfer jurisdiction to another coroner whilst the body is still lying within his district and with the consent of the other coroner. Since late December 2006 the Oxfordshire coroner's practice was to transfer jurisdiction to coroners closer to the next of kin wherever possible; this practice has been continued by the Wiltshire and Swindon coroner since 1 April 2007. Some inquests of deaths of service personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan before December 2006 have also been transferred to other coroners.

That is from this website. http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement_301007a.htm

[sapper]

Plot Finder

Many thanks, mind it's going to take the rest of the night to understand it.

spr

[airborne_artist]

It's a bit simpler than that. The bodies are taken to the John Radcliffe for a post mortem. It seems there are not the favilities for a PM in Wiltshire, despite all the money Broon has thrown at the NHS.

[BEagle]

Whereas if they'd kept Wroughton open..........:ugh:

[vernon99]

It annoys me that people/organisations have to be shamed into doing something. I just wish the national media would do something more proactive. For example a minutes silence on the six o'clock news with perhaps footage of the repatriation ceremony, or footage from Wootton Bassett, where the locals pay their respects. Might just focus peoples minds on what the armed forces are doing on their behalf.

Most of the police that are required for the ceremonies in Wootton Bassett (to close main street etc) do so on their days off! http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/search/display.var.1620510.0.high_street_pays_tribute_to_fallen_her oes.php

Here are some other reports from the local paper.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/search/display.var.1476896.0.town_turns_out_for_fallen_soldier.php

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/search/display.var.1840460.0.town_pays_respects_again.php

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/search/display.var.2072065.0.town_pays_tribute_to_fallen_corporals. php

It would be nice to see a national media source take something like this and shame the government/people into doing more.

enough said:mad:

[Raymond Ginardon]

Bumped Signed .

[chappie]

signed....:D for the person to set this up.
i lost my brother in 2005 and i remember seeing the streets lined with the people of lyneham was a sight i'll never forget, nor the respect and gratitiude for those people.
it is vital that our loved ones are treated like the heroes they are. the repatriation ceremony is a day which is only seconded by the sad event of a funeral and to know this might happen is one thing too much. take it from someone who knows you are so helpless on that day and the days that follows to know that this is a risk is one that is too much to bear.
quite simply, sometimes there are no words.....

[vernon99]

I found out yesterday, that the repatriation is filmed as the coffin is taken from the A/C and then when the convoy stops at the (recent) war memorial in Wootton Bassett for a small service, the town CCTV system also provides footage. This footage is then edited and presented to the relatives, not much but it is better than nothing. At least someone cares, even if the government/media don't.

[Windy Militant]

Swindon Advertiser 28/04/08 (http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/swindonnewsheadlines/display.var.2231726.0.town_is_proud_to_fulfil_sombre_duty.ph p)
In the last month or so I've seen Police outriders escorting the corteges on the A419, but as pointed out that may be individual officers doing it on a voluntary basis.

[Flyingblind]

Signed as an ex pat but one who's heart is with those that serve and deserve so much better.

[airborne_artist]

Windy - Wiltshire have always escorted the coffins. Thames Valley stopped when they withdrew all their motorbikes from service for technical reasons, so when the cortege reach the the boundary, Wiltshire turned round.

The Daily Mail article prompted them to re-start, using cars. I started the petition on reading the Mail article, but the No.10 petition approvals process moves slowly, and in the meantime Thames Valley's CC was shamed by the Mail into re-starting.

However, the petition still has merit, in case coffins are brought back into other airfields. I'd like to see the MoD take the lead on this; I'm saddened that it's not high on their priorities.

[Biggles225]

Whats the bet that if the outriders are doing it in their own time they are ex service?

Still, that doesn't excuse the government for its seeming lack of concern in failing to provide escorts as a matter of course. And if they dont feel its their responsibility, then it f:mad:g well should be.

[oldshuck]

Signed. Just wonders why it should need this.

[poss]

A just cause, have also signed. :ok:

[Yellow6]

Signed up.

High time the country and its political masters learned a little more about honouring those who gave their lives.

[November4]

BBC report (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/7618115.stm)

MoD thanks town for its support

An appreciation parade is to be held in Wootton Bassett, in Wiltshire, to thank locals for their support when troops killed in service are brought home.

Up to 1,000 residents turn out to pay their respects when funeral corteges of personnel repatriated through RAF Lyneham pass through the town.

The airbase is to organise a special parade, on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), for 12 October.

Marching bands and a C130 Hercules flypast are also planned.

Town mayor Mike Leighfield said: "I really am honoured that they should consider doing this because we don't do it for any recognition.

"But to be honoured in this way, words fail me, I think it's absolutely amazing."

[lampeterexile]

About time they get the respect they deserve. signed