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Tributes to Northamptonshire soliders killed in Iraq
Three Northamptonshire soldiers who gave their lives for their country during the Iraq War have been remembered at a service in London attended by the Queen.
Held at St Paul's Cathedral yesterday, the service paid tribute to the efforts of more than 100,000 members of UK Armed Forces and civilians who served in Iraq between 2003 and 2009, including the 179 British personnel who died in the conflict.
They included Trooper Carl Smith, 23, of Rushden, of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales), Wt Officer Class 2 Lee Hopkins, 35, of Wellingborough, of the Royal Corps of Signals, and Corporal Steve Edwards, 35, of Thrapston, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.
Rushden honorary Poppy Appeal organiser, Joan Green, who helped arrange a fundraising concert in Trooper Smith's memory last year and served in the Ministry of Defence's military intelligence section in the 1960s, said: "I'm pleased this service has been held to remember those who lost their lives.
It's important we show our support for the troops and to show the families of people like Carl Smith that we remember them."
Trooper Smith joined the Army aged 22 and after training began preparations to join his regiment in Iraq, as a part of 7th Armoured Brigade (The Desert Rats).
He died in February 2006 in a road accident while on operations in Abu Al Khasib, south of Basra.
He left behind his parents, Paul and Dee, and his sister Katherine, partner Carly Piper and three-year-old son Lewis.
WO2 Hopkins joined the Army in 1988 and spent his career in the Royal Corps of Signals. He served in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Iraq and, at the time of his death, was five weeks into a six-month tour in Iraq.
He was one of four UK service personnel killed in an attack on the Shatt Al-Arab waterway in November 2006. WO2 Hopkins had been married for 10 years and left behind a wife and a three-year-old son.
Corp Edwards joined the army in 1993. He died in July 2007 when his armoured vehicle was attacked during a routine patrol in the Mustashfa district of Basra City.
He left behind a wife, Gabie, parents, and his 18-month-old son, Ryan.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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