Relatives Of War Dead Make First Visit To Memorial

A group of bereaved relatives have paid a first visit to a war memorial, after some loved ones complained they were not invited to or told about its unveiling.

The Iraq and Afghanistan memorial was opened by the Queen at a service in March, an event attended by 2,500 people, including senior members of the royal family.

Widow Wendy Rayner and bereaved mothers Julie Hall and Tracy Dunn-Bridgeman visited the memorial in London on Sunday, saying it was important to them to see the memorial in person.

Ms Hall lost her son Kingsman Darren Deady after he was shot in Afghanistan in 2010 aged 23.

She said: "It is bittersweet. Bitter because it brings it all back, but sweet because I remember him."

Ms Rayner's husband, Sergeant Peter Rayner, was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) during a routine patrol in Afghanistan in 2010.

At the time of the unveiling the florist, from Bradford, said some relatives felt they had been "forgotten".

Ms Dunn-Bridgeman, from Liverpool, said she had booked time off from her job as a medical secretary at Aintree Hospital on the understanding she had been invited to the unveiling.

Her son, Kingsman Jason Dunn-Bridgeman, died aged 20 in Afghanistan in 2009.

She said she understood not everyone could be invited to the memorial, but added that the handling of the invites made her feel "disrespected".

She said: "I felt disrespected because it's as if we don't count - the people who are left behind don't count."

The memorial represents more than 300,000 people, both military and civilian, who served in conflicts in the Gulf region, Iraq and Afghanistan from 1990-2015, and those who supported them from the UK.

On Saturday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry hosted the children of servicemen and women killed while serving in the Armed Forces.