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Guardsman Anthony Wakefield

It is with great sadness that the Battalion report the death of Guardsman Anthony Wakefield.  He will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues.

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Guardsman Wakefield, a married father of three from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, died as a result of wounds sustained during a routine patrol in Al Amarah, Iraq.  He was 24.  His Company of the 1st Battalion The Coldstream Guards is currently serving alongside 1 Gdsm Wakefield on a recent exercise with the BattalionStaffords (Staffordshire Regt.) in Maysan Province, Iraq.  The Commanding Officer of 1 Staffords, Lt Col Andrew Williams has paid tribute to Gdsm Wakefield’s professionalism:

"May I start by expressing my most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Gdsm Wakefield.

"Gdsm Wakefield died in the early hours of 2 May 2005 as a result of wounds sustained during a patrol in the town of Al Amarah, Southern Iraq. 

"He was acting as the top cover sentry in the second of a two vehicle patrol when what appears to have been an Improvised Explosive Device detonated – disabling the vehicle and injuring another soldier. 

"Despite receiving first aid at the scene and in the helicopter that evacuated him, he sadly died of wounds shortly after being attended by the doctor at the Battlegroup’s base just outside the town.

"Gdsm Wakefield was a supremely fit and popular soldier who died doing his duty and amongst his friends.  A proud Coldstream Guardsman, he was attached to the Staffords Battlegroup and had made many friends during his time with us.

"To all those who were lucky enough to know him, it was clear that he loved his duty and had a very bright future ahead of him.  He was already a qualified Physical Training Instructor and had been selected to attend a course for promotion at the end of the 6 month tour.

"Gdsm Wakefield will be sorely missed by a great many people and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this difficult time."

 


The above information and images are shown on the Army MOD News Site at: http://www.news.mod.uk/news_headline_story.asp?newsItem_id=3225

Repatriation of Guardsman Anthony James Wakefield from Basra Airport to the UK 5 May 2005 [Picture: LA(Phot) Emma Somerfield RN, Combat Camera Team]
Repatriation of Guardsman Anthony James Wakefield to Brize Norton 6 May 2005





 




 

A recent newspaper article is shown below,

Gdsm Anthony Wakefield - Gone but not forgotten


Helicopter pilot blows drowning men to safety
By Paul Stokes
(Filed: 28/11/2002)

Two men were saved from drowning in a fast flowing river when an ingenious police helicopter pilot "blew" them to shore.

Capt Jim Polwarth directed downdraughts from a height of 50ft to prevent them being swept away by the strong current in the biting cold.

He managed to flatten the waves and push the pair to safety on blasts of 30mph wind so that they could be reached by rescuers.

Gdsm Anthony Wakefield, 22, had dived into the water after his friend Stephen Cairns, 19, fell from the Swing Bridge, in Newcastle upon Tyne, early yesterday.

Police were called and a helicopter from Northumbria Police Air Support Unit was brought in to illuminate the scene as the rescue became more desperate.

Capt Polwarth's crew members used an infra-red search beam and a searchlight to locate the stranded men.

The pilot flew slightly to one side of them and then used his downdraught to push them to within 20 yards of the shore where waiting officers got ropes to the men and hauled them to safety.

He said: "It isn't something you are taught in training. In fact in some ways it is the opposite to the techniques you are taught.

"In rescues at sea we have to be very careful to get directly above the person were are rescuing because we don't want them to be moved around.

"I could see the point on the water that was being hit by the downdraught and I was able to guide them gently towards the shore using the blast from the rotors.

"I had to be careful not to get too close to the cranes at either side of the Tyne at that point but to my mind we weren't the ones doing anything dangerous. It was the officers on the shore who had to pull the lads in and they put themselves in danger by doing that."

Capt Polwarth, 42, who is married with two children, has been a police pilot for four years.

 Gdsm Wakefield, a member of the Coldstream Guards and a father of three, said yesterday that he and his friend owed their lives to the pilot's ingenuity.

He was released from Newcastle General Hospital after treatment, but Mr Cairns, who is unemployed, was detained for observation.

They had been out on Newcastle Quayside on the first night of his return home on leave from Northern Ireland.

Gdsm Wakefield said: "It was looking really desperate. I was beginning to worry. I could see the helicopter getting closer and then suddenly the water was calm and we were getting blown towards the quayside."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/11/28/nblow28.xml
 
 
 
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