Armagh-born Gurkha Officer Buried

Lieutenant Neal Turkington - a Co Armagh soldier killed in Afghanistan - has been buried in his local Kernan Cemetery following a Portadown church service.

Six Gurkhas carried his coffin and eight formed a guard of honour as a lone piper walked ahead of the coffin.

The town came to a standstill as thousands of people lined the streets of Portadown this afternoon for the funeral of the Gurkha officer who was killed along with two of his comrades by a rogue member of the Afghan National Army on July 13.

Talib Hussein shot Major James Bowman, 34, while he slept, then targeted Corporal Arjun Purja Pun, 33, and 26-year-old Lieutenant Turkington (pictured) with a rocket-propelled grenade.

A cross-community funeral was held - as requested by the Turkington family - who said it was in keeping with their son's beliefs and upbringing.

Full military honours were accorded for the young officer with Royal British Legion Standards from all parts of NI being carried from the town's Edward Street to St Mark's Church for the 2pm service.

Lieutenant Turkington was an engineering graduate of Imperial College London in 2007.

At the time of Lieutenant Turkington's body being initially repatrated into RAF Lynam in Wiltshire, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said of him that he "had the highest expectations of himself and his platoon, to whom he dedicated himself wholeheartedly".

Lt Turkington was described as a humanitarian at heart and had travelled to El Salvador and Nepal to help provide basic infrastructure to improverished communities.

After graduating from Imperial College, he completed officer training at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and received his commission in August 2008.

His ambition was to be a member of the Gurkhas and out of 100 people, he was just one of two officers appointed to the force.

His first regimental posting was in Brunei as commander of 2 Platoon and he then completed the mandatory three months of language study in Pokhara, Western Nepal, and perfected the art of speaking Nepali with an Ulster accent.

His comrades, who called him 'The Turk', knew him as a courageous platoon commander and true friend.

See: Sad Return As Army Wins Stormont Praise

(BMcC/GK)