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Op TELIC 13 – Iraq

‘Good to be back from Iraq’

The last members of ‘The Iron Fist’ return home from Iraq to their loved ones in Germany, writes Captain Laurence Roche AGC (ETS).

40 soldiers from 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment flew into Hannover airport on Saturday afternoon at the end of their 6-month tour of duty in Baghdad.  They are the last members of the British Army’s 20th Armoured Brigade (The Iron Fist) to return from Iraq following the ceremonies to end the UK’s combat mission in Basra last month.

Soldiers serving with 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (1 YORKS) have returned home at the end of their 6 month tour of duty in Baghdad.

They are the final troops from 20th Armoured Brigade, known as ‘The Iron Fist’, to return from Iraq following the ceremonies to end the UK’s combat mission in Basra at the end of April.

A Company, 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment have spent the past 6 months protecting senior British officers in Baghdad.

On Saturday 30th May forty members of A Company returned to their base in Münster, north Germany where they were met by cheering families and friends.  Colourful hand-painted ‘welcome home’ banners had been hung in front of the Battalion’s Headquarters in Oxford Barracks, in the outskirts of the picturesque German cathedral city.

1 YORKS have spent the past 6 months based in Iraq as part of The Iron Fist, where they have been responsible for mentoring and training the Iraqi Army in locations across Basra Province as well as guarding senior British officials in the Iraqi capital.

The Officer Commanding A Company, Major Phil Bassingham-Searle, said: “The Battalion's been split between Baghdad & Basra.  It's good to return & get back together.

Arabian Knight – Officer Commanding A Company, Major Phil Bassingham-Searle, with his children Guy, 3, and Julia, 2.

“I didn’t realise until today that we’re the last combat troops from 20th Armoured Brigade out of Iraq.  So it’s good to be home, to see our families again, and the job well done by the boys. 

“We’ve got a period of ‘normalisation’ back here in barracks for about 10 days, then a couple of weeks leave and then we’ve got some freedom parades.  There’ll be 150 soldiers on parade and it’ll be nice for the people of Yorkshire to come out and show their appreciation for what the guys have done this year.”

Private Liam Blowman

30-year-old armoured vehicle driver, Private Liam Blowman from East Hull, continued: “We were the protection team for senior British and Iraqi officials.  One of my jobs was as a driver for the rest of the platoon.  It was a bit difficult at times because the roads can be a bit tight.  I was in Iraq in 2007 and this time it seemed a bit more stable.  You can definitely see the difference in how it was now and then.”

Private Luke Hawkin

Returning from his first tour of Iraq, 23-year-old Private Luke Hawkin from Selby said:  “It’s good to say that ‘I’ve been there and done that’.  It was satisfying work in Baghdad, helping the general with his movements and protecting him.  It was nice to be there and do our jobs professionally.

“We didn’t have to fire our weapons, so to get a tour out of the way without anyone getting injured is the best bit of all. 

Lance Corporal James Clark, 28 from Hull, with wife Sian and daughter Claire, 2, and one-year-old-son Preston.

"I’m now looking forward to a few weeks in Germany and then getting back to the UK.  I can’t wait to march through York, it’ll be good."

Lance Corporal James Clark, 28 from Hull, added: “It’s just nice to be back now and see the kids and family.  The kids have grown up so much and changed in the six months that I’ve been away.  Now I’m looking forward to sitting down and having a cup of Yorkshire tea in my own home.”

1 YORKS will be exercising the freedom of a number of Yorkshire towns and cities at the end of July.  On Tuesday 21 July they will march through York and Harrogate, and on Thursday 23 July they will parade in Hull and Beverley.  They will complete their Yorkshire homecoming with a parade in Leeds city centre on Friday 24 July.

20th Armoured Brigade’s progress can be followed online at twitter.com/theironfist .

PICTURES: (Credit: Cpl James Williams RLC)

Articles from June 2nd

The Hull Daily Mail

The Press (York)

The Yorkshire Evening Post

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