Dog Soldiers: Love, loyalty and sacrifice on the front line. Isabel George
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HarperElement
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First published by HarperElement 2016
FIRST EDITION
© Isabel George 2016
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016
Front cover photographs (soldier) © Crown 2016, Ministry of Defence, published with kind permission of the family of Lance Corporal Liam Tasker.
All other images © Shutterstock.com
A catalogue record of this book is
available from the British Library
Isabel George asserts the moral right to be
identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780008148065
Ebook Edition © January 2016 ISBN: 9780008148089
Version: 2015-11-26
Contents
1 Please God, look after him …
3 For Queen and country – The Troubles
4 The dogs of war – deployment to Afghanistan
8 Stay safe. Love you loads, son xxxx
9 Take one soldier and his warrior dog
13 Repatriation: the final journey home
Northern Ireland border, Clogher, County Tyrone, 23 July 1973
Corporal Bryan Criddle RAVC was injured when an IRA bomb, hidden in a milk churn, was detonated remotely. He died due to head injuries four days later. His dog, Jason, was blown 30 feet in the air but survived.
Northern Ireland, Kilkeel, 28 May 1986
Corporal Brian Brown QGM from Ballynahinch was a member of 3 UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment) and had been awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his service in Northern Ireland. He lost his life on 28 May 1986 when a bomb exploded at a garage in Kilkeel. Oliver, his search dog, was also killed in the blast. The ashes of the faithful Yellow Labrador were buried with his master.
Northern Ireland, Crossmaglen, 21 May 1988
Corporal Derek Hayes of the Royal Pioneer Corps died with his Army search dog, Ben, when an IRA booby trap bomb exploded. Cpl Hayes and Ben were on patrol in Crossmaglen when they were asked to investigate a partly hidden box in a ditch but as they approached the device exploded, killing them both. The ashes of the faithful Yellow Labrador were buried alongside the soldier.
Northern Ireland, Belfast, 25 May 1991
Corporal Terry ‘Geordie’ O’Neill was the victim of a ‘coffee-jar’ bomb (Semtex, nails, bolts and ball bearings). He was killed instantly. Darren ‘Swifty’ Swift, his fellow handler, standing alongside him, lost both legs in the attack, which took place as the two soldiers exercised their dogs in the yard of the Army Dog Unit. Several dogs were injured in the blast, including Geordie’s dog, Blue, and Swifty’s dog, Troy.
Four dog soldiers lost their lives during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, between 1973 and 1991. The conflict in Afghanistan was to claim the next man and dog.
As you made your way