Town unites in grief as Yorkshire soldiers' bodies return

The bodies of Corporal Liam Riley and Lance Corporal Graham Shaw arrived at RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire before passing through nearby Wootton Bassett.

Residents, shopkeepers and ex-servicemen followed recent tradition by lining the high street to pay their respects in a moment's silence as the soldiers' Union flag-draped coffins were driven through the town.

The funeral corteges paused for a moment by the town's war memorial before continuing the journey to the coroner at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

The soldiers, of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, were serving as part of the Coldstream Guards Battle Group.

They were killed by two improvised explosive device blasts near Malgir, Helmand on February 1. L/Cpl Shaw had turned 27 the day before.

Cpl Riley's aunt, Angela Stephens, said: "He was a wonderful lad, very honest, trustworthy and would do anything for anybody.

"From being a child, he always had a sword and a gun. His ambition was to be a soldier when he grew up and he has fulfilled that ambition."

She came with other family members including his uncle, Glenn Riley, and aunt, Susan Geraghty, to honour him.

Prince Harry has paid tribute to Cpl Riley, 21, with whom he served at a military training unit in Canada in 2007, describing him as a "legend" and a "really special man".

Mrs Stephens added: "It meant a lot to the family that Harry took the time to pay tribute to Liam.

"He is a legend, he always will be."

Lifelong Sheffield Wednesday fan Cpl Riley had volunteered at short notice to serve in Afghanistan and died while trying to "extract" a member of his team. He had been in Afghanistan only since December.

She said: "He has left a big hole in all our hearts. Nobody will ever fill that void.

"There's only one Liam and no one will ever replace our Liam.

"His achievement was to look after his men on the front line. His men came first, his men respected and looked up to him."

L/Cpl Shaw was team leader of a base security foot patrol when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated, killing him instantly.

Town mayor Steve Bucknell said: "Each one is different, each soldier that falls is different.

"Today, as usual, we have a lot of family and friends coming down to Wootton Bassett to pay their respects.

"Part of why so many local people turn up is to offer whatever support we can to them.

"They will be going through so many emotions - grief, sorrow and a huge amount of pride.

"They have a lot to be proud of. These lads paid the ultimate sacrifice doing a job for all of us."

There have been more than 100 repatriations passing through Wootton Bassett since April 2007, when runway repairs at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire meant that dead soldiers were flown into nearby RAF Lyneham instead.

But at the end of 2012, RAF Lyneham is due to close and repatriations should revert to Brize Norton.