Prince joins city parade to honour country's war dead

Published on Wednesday 18 June 2008 14:18

Memorial comes as first woman soldier dies in Afghanistan.

PRINCE Harry (pictured above centre) joined a parade in the Royal Mile today to remember fallen comrades, as it was announced the first British woman soldier has been killed in Afghanistan.

He was among 210 soldiers, sailors and airmen who attended a service in St Giles' Cathedral to pay their respects to troops who died.

The 23-year-old household cavalry officer was part of the 52 Infantry Brigade in Helmand Province last year, which saw 24 soldiers, including Brits, Danes, Americans and Czechs, lose their lives.

Crowds gathered in the High Street as the parade set off at 10.30am from Johnstone Terrace. A marching band led them through the Lawnmarket where they paused outside the cathedral.

The troops, led by a dozen-strong pipe band, were applauded by the hundreds of onlookers and there were shouts of "Well done" as the soldiers passed by.

The prince, wearing his khaki dress uniform and medals, was in the third row of officers. He spent ten weeks on the frontline before being flown home in February amid fears for his safety when his deployment was reported in foreign media.

After the service the prince attended a reception at Edinburgh Castle, before leaving the city. It was his first visit to the Capital since his brother Prince William was studying at St Andrew's University.

The families of the dead soldiers, as well as Lord Provost George Grubb and Des Browne, the Secretary of State for Defence, also attended the service. His Danish counterpart, Soren Gode, also attended.

52 Infantry Brigade, which is based at Edinburgh Castle, returned from Afghanistan in April. Around 7500 soldiers were deployed on Operation Herrick 7 before they handed over to 16 Air Assault on April 10. They included soldiers from around the UK, as well as the United States, Denmark and Germany.

The Reverend Neil Allison, the brigade's chaplain, led today's service, which included prayers of thanksgiving for their "perseverance and undaunted spirit". The band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland played music, including the Skye Boat Song.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has expressed his "deepest condolences" to the families of four soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan yesterday.

Their families have been informed. A fifth soldier wounded in the attack is said to be in a stable condition.

The four are the latest to be killed in action following a blast in the troubled Helmand province. They were taking part in an operation east of Lashkar Gah when their vehicle was caught in an explosion at about 3.40pm local time yesterday.

Nine British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in nine days, marking a sharp upturn in violence against troops in the troubled country.

Mr Brown said: "They were in the most dangerous of jobs in the most difficult of circumstances.

"I salute not just their bravery, dedication and professionalism but that of all our armed forces. Our troops are the best in the world and fighting for the noblest of causes."

Three of the soldiers were killed in the blast, while the fourth was pronounced dead on arrival at Camp Bastion, the Ministry of Defence said. It is understood that the woman was serving with the Army's Intelligence Corps.

It is the biggest single loss of life for British troops since September 2006, when 14 personnel were killed when an RAF Nimrod came down near Kandahar.