Fusiliers and Mercians parade in London

In Hounslow, West London, soldiers of 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers (2 RRF), based in nearby Cavalry Barracks, were honoured by the Mayor and granted the Freedom of the Borough.

Hundreds of Fusiliers, including a Colour Party and Corps of Drums, marched through the High Street to the Civic Centre, where the London Borough of Hounslow Council had organised a reception to thank them for their service.

The Fusiliers have marched through the town in the past at the invitation of the council, however yesterday they were granted the 'Freedom' of Hounslow which will enable them to march through the town 'with drums beating, flags flying and bayonets fixed'. It is the highest honour the borough can bestow on a regiment.

The leader of Hounslow Council, Councillor Peter Thompson, and Brigadier Trevor Minter, Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, took the salute yesterday and welcomed the troops back after a ceremony where Operational Service Medals were awarded to the soldiers.

The Fusiliers took part in a number of key events during their deployment to Afghanistan. They were based in Musa Qaleh where they conducted a number of operations to increase the security for the local population, working alongside the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police.

Seven members of the regiment lost their lives in Afghanistan - Sergeant Simon Valentine, Corporal Joseph Etchells, Lance Corporal James Fullarton, Fusilier Simon Annis, Fusilier Shaun Bush, Fusilier Louis Carter and Fusilier Petero 'Pat' Suesue.

Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Calder, Commanding Officer, 2 RRF, said yesterday:

"There were a lot of people out in the town and for us it was a great honour to be given the freedom.

"We paraded through the town earlier this year, in March, and unfortunately there are seven of those guys who paraded who are not here today.

"We marched with a huge amount of pride, but also tinged with a degree of sadness for the guys who we lost."

Major Jo Butterfill, Officer Commanding A Company, 2 RRF, said:

"The quiet individual heroism displayed by the soldiers that enabled them to operate in the face of such a severe and ever-present threat will stay with me forever."

Fusilier Kieran Connolly said:

"Despite the dangers we have had an amazing experience. You have to be alert 100 per cent of the time but, after all, being on operations is what you sign up for!"

Meanwhile in central London around 80 Territorial Army soldiers from 4th Battalion The Mercian Regiment (4 MERCIAN), along with their regimental mascot, a ram, marched from Wellington Barracks to Clarence House where they were met by their Colonel-in-Chief, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

The Prince presented the soldiers with their Afghanistan Operational Service Medals and hosted a reception for the soldiers and their families in St James's Palace.

The deployment of 4 MERCIAN, based in Wolverhampton, marked the rare occasion that an entirely Territorial Army infantry company has deployed to Afghanistan.

Their role initially required them to protect Camp Bastion from insurgent attack, ranging from mortars to suicide bombers. They patrolled the circumference of the camp and up to 20 miles (32km) outside of it.

The soldiers, drawn from all walks of life, from a postman to a university lecturer, also provided armed escorts for the medical evacuation of the most seriously injured soldiers and provided protection for bomb disposal teams continuously working to alleviate the lethal improvised explosive device threat.

Two platoons of 4 MERCIAN later moved into the heart of the 'Green Zone' as part of the Welsh Guards Battle Group when Operation PANTHER'S CLAW began. They worked to provide security to the local population in Basaran, in particular securing the area for a school to be refurbished and reopened.

The headteacher had been beheaded by the Taliban and the school had closed and fallen into wrack and ruin. The work of 4 MERCIAN ensured that the school reopened to teach both boys and girls for the first time.

Throughout the operation the remaining elements of the company continued to be responsible for providing security to Camp Bastion which came under a series of attacks as the Taliban sought to interrupt Operation PANTHER'S CLAW.

The unit took no casualties although 19-year-old student Private Anthony Meyer from Liverpool was shot in the shoulder during a heavy firefight but carried on fighting, oblivious to his injury.

All of the men returned safely home to their families on 3 October.

One of the soldiers at yesterday's medal presentation, Colour Sergeant John Penney, aged 41, missed the birth of his first child by a few days because he was waiting to come home from Afghanistan.

Standing with his partner and holding his son, now ten-weeks-old, he said the Prince talked to him about his own experiences of fatherhood, advising him that this was the time to bond with his son.

CSgt Penney said:

"You come out of Afghanistan quite emotionally numb. When I was handed my son for the first time it was emotional overload - it was just amazing.

"It was from one extreme to another. To come home to being a father was life-changing."

CSgt Penney was caught up in the attack that killed Major Sean Birchall from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards in Helmand on 19 June.

He was pinned down in a Taliban attack involving gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades for an hour and 45 minutes. He said:

"I'm not a religious man, but I turned to religion very quickly. I remember saying 'God, promise me I'll get out safe and let me see my unborn child and Paula again, and I will never be a bad man again'.

"I was actually really scared at that point and thought I would never see him."

Also from 4 MERCIAN and at the ceremony yesterday were Lance Corporal Anthony Bradshaw, who worked as a chef in Camp Bastion, and his wife, Lance Corporal Claire Bradshaw, who was deployed to Helmand's Green Zone as a combat medic.

Mrs Bradshaw, who in civilian life works as a healthcare assistant at Queen's Hospital in Burton-on-Trent, loved her deployment. She said:

"I would definitely go back again."

Her husband, who works for the Ministry of Defence, said:

"The six months were tough because we didn't get a day off. We were doing 12-hour shifts, seven-days-a-week. It was hard graft."