With British combat operations in southern Iraq drawing to a close and UK Service personnel preparing to draw down from Basra, this was the last service to be held at the wall in Basra which stands outside the UK Headquarters building on the Basra Contingency Operating Base.
The service, which was held this morning, Thursday 30 April 2009, was attended by personnel from all three Services, senior coalition officers and the Defence Secretary John Hutton.
The Basra Memorial Wall commemorates the 178 UK Service personnel and one civil servant who have died on Operation TELIC, as well as 46 coalition forces personnel and nine contractors (including two British citizens) killed in Multi-National Division South East's area of operations.
The service was conducted by The Reverend Paschal Hanrahan who is padre to the British military Medical Group in Basra. Representatives from all three Services read out in turn the names of all the 233 coalition fatalities commemorated on the wall.
A bagpiper played a lament followed by a bugler who played the Last Post and Reveille. The end of the service was marked by an RAF Tornado flypast.
John Hutton said:
"The past six years have seen a heavy price paid: 178 members of the Armed Forces and one Defence civilian have died in the service of their country on Operation TELIC. Their sacrifice must not be forgotten, and that is why it was a privilege to attend the final, poignant service of commemoration in Basra.
"But Iraq's progress over the six years, no matter how uneven or uncertain it may have appeared at times, shows that their sacrifice has not been in vain. Following the peaceful elections in January, Basra has a new democratically-elected and representative Provincial Council. Protected by the Iraqi Security Forces we have trained, the city finally has the chance to achieve its full potential.
"Over six challenging years, British forces have helped to set Basra on the path towards enduring stability and economic growth. They have supported reconstruction; set the airport on the path to international accreditation; and helped to develop the port facilities at Umm Qasr. Basra is a better place for our men and women being there and I pay tribute to all of them."
The Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary made a commitment in December 2008 to bring the Memorial Wall home to a fitting resting place in Britain. The Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth is writing to the families to update them on our plans.
The plan is to replicate the memorial wall in Basra as closely as possible at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The MOD is working with the Arboretum to finalise the design.
The proposed design will incorporate the marble centre-stone of the Basra Memorial Wall, which is engraved with a quotation from the Book of Wisdom.
Work on the foundations of the wall is likely to start at the Arboretum later this year. We hope the memorial wall itself will be completed by July next year. There will be a dedication service next year to unveil the completed memorial.