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Iraq Hercules crash victims remembered 20 years on

Steve Humphrey & Ethan Gudge
BBC News
MOD the 10 British servicemen who were killed when their Hercules plane crashed 30/1/2005 in Iraq. Top, from left: Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall, 39, Flight Lieutenant David Stead, 35, Flight Lieutenant Andrew Smith, 25, Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, 35, Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, 42; bottom, from left: Chief Technician Richard Brown, 40, Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson, 34, Sergeant Robert O'Connor, 38, Corporal David Williams, 37, Acting Lance Corporal Steven Jones, 25.MOD
Ten men died when the Hercules XV179 was shot down in Iraq in 2005

Ten servicemen who were killed when their plane was shot down during the conflict in Iraq have been remembered 20 years on from their death.

All 10 men onboard Hercules XV179, which was based at the former RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire, were killed when the plane crashed on 30 January 2005 on its way from Baghdad to Balad.

Servicemen and women gathered alongside some of the men's friends at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, the home of the air force's transport squadrons, for a memorial service on Thursday.

Group Captain Andy McIntyre told the BBC the impact of the attack was "hard to put in to words", and that it had "shaped how our force operates today".

"I can't believe it's been 20 years, if I'm honest," he said.

"For 10 people the questions remain of what could have been - they absolutely will never be forgotten."

Group Captain Andy McIntyre is dressed in RAF uniform with a hast, blue suit, shirt and tie. Behind him out of focus is a building and a military vehicle.
Group Captain Andy McIntyre told the BBC the impact of the attack was "hard to put in to words"

At the time, the crash was the biggest single loss of life among British forces in the Iraq campaign, as well as to the RAF in a hostile act since World War Two.

Hayley Woodhall, a former RAF technician who served in Iraq, said: "I was on shift working, and then on that fateful day I heard something had happened - but in my head I just thought 'Oh, the boys have landed it a bit heavy - they'll come over and they'll be laughing about it'."

"And then we got the devastating news that it was a total disaster and all the boys were gone - I just remember the numbness and just feeling sick," she said.

Hayley Woodhall has brown hair, glasses and is wearing a coat. She is holding white flowers in her hands.
Hayley Woodhall is a former RAF technician who served in Iraq

Ms Woodhall was a friend of Flight Lieutenant Andrew Smith, who was killed in the crash.

"That was when all our lives changed forever - not just me, all of the families, everybody who worked with them and Smudge [Flt Lt Smith] remained in my lining pad for my entire career."

She said those killed in the crash would "never be forgotten", adding: "I won't ever let this slip, I will make sure everyone remembers as much as possible."

A large group of servicemen and women at the memorial in their uniforms are saluting. It is a sunny day.
RAF Brize Norton hosted the memorial on Thursday, exactly 20 years to the day since the crash

Warrant Officer Tug Wilson, who was serving at the time of the crash, said the RAF was a "disconnected family as it's operating all over the world", but that at times of sorrow it became "very, very close very, very quickly".

He added: "Some of them [the men who died in the crash] would have been younger than me and still would have been serving [now], which hits home because we would have been around these people."

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