03/08/2010

Murdered NI 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.

The town came to a standstill 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 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".

See: Sad Return As Army Wins Stormont Praise

(BMcC/GK)

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