Hundreds flock to be at heroes' return
As the church bell tolled, a respectful silence fell on the crowd as hero soldier Darren Chant came home.
Some edged their way carefully past standard bearers to throw flowers on top of his passing hearse.
While others gently sobbed as they paid their respects to the Warrant Officer First Class, of the Royal Grenadier Guards, and five other soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Hundreds had turned out to Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire yesterday to see the memorial procession.
Wearing poppies that pay tribute in the week of Remembrance Day to all those who have died for their country, they paid their respects to the latest to fall.
As the cortege paused by the town's war memorial, which was covered in floral tributes, roses and wreaths were placed on the hearses by relatives and friends.
Close by lay a solitary yellow rose carrying a tribute to WO1 Chant, whose three children live in Horndean.
It read: 'WO Darren Chant: So sorry that you were betrayed.
'Thinking of you and your family.'
As the cortege moved off, the crowd burst into a round of applause – a custom only witnessed a few times at previous repatriations.
WO1 Chant's best friend Michael Cripps, 37, of Old Rectory Road, in Farlington, Portsmouth, said: 'I think from the family's point of view, this is a fantastic tribute to Darren's contribution to the British Army.
'I think they will be really relieved to know he is back in Britain, it will help them close round as a family circle.
'It's fantastic that the people Wootton Bassett have recognised the sacrifice he has made.'
WO1 Chant, an ex-Petersfield Town footballer between 1997 and 2005, was shot dead by a 'rogue' Afghan police officer at a secure checkpoint in Nad-e-Ali in Helmand Province on November 3.
Four other soldiers also died in the attack claimed by the Taliban.
Yesterday their bodies, along with Serjeant Phillip Scott, 30, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, who was killed by an improvised explosive device near Sangin in Helmand, were flown back to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
WO1 Chant's family were able to see him in a private service, as did the families of the other troops.
By mid-afternoon, the constant rain had stopped and the large crowd in Wootton Bassett filled both pavements to witness the hearses carrying their Union flag-draped coffins as they were driven through the town.
After the procession moved away towards the John Radcliffe infirmary in Oxford, where post mortems examinations will be carried out, the crowds on either side of the road moved to embrace and comfort each other.
Tony Stephens, 70, who travelled from Swindon, said: 'This is the most spectauclar turnout I have seen for a repatriation.
'I don't know whether it's to do with the way in which these men died but there seems to be an extra emotion to the day.
Last week WO1 Chant's ex-wife Constance, 41, spoke of her shock at his death, saying he 'was the best father in the world'.
Connor Chant, 16, the eldest of WO1 Chant's three children, also described the Regimental Sergeant Major as 'the greatest dad, soldier and person anyone could ask for.'
On a dedicated page of social-networking website Facebook, he said: 'I can't believe I lost you as you were my all, but I know you died doing something you loved, which I respect dearly.'
WORDS OF PRAISE
Darren Chant's regimental secretary has praised his 'upbeat character'.
David Bell, 72, travelled to Wootton Bassett with his wife Sally to witness yesterday's emotional procession.
Mr Bell, from Fair Oak, near Southampton, made the journey for the first time because of WO1 Chant's reputation.
The secretary for Surrey and east Hampshire said: 'I came because Darren was such an upbeat member of the Grenadier Guards.
'I shook his hand on many occasions and consider it an honour that I knew him.
'There is huge support for him because of his leadership over two tours of Afghanistan.'
Mrs Bell, whose son fought in 2 Para in the 1982 Falklands War, said:
'We feel so terrible for him and his family.
'Their deaths were the result of a sheer act of treachery.'
HADNFUL OF MOURNERS HAS GROWN INTO THOUSANDS
The packed crowd gathered in Wootton Bassett marked a major change from the few individuals gathered for repatriations just a few years ago, writes Defence Correspondent Matt Jackson.
On one occasion in 2007 I witnessed a procession of black hearses moving slowly along the high street of the small market town.
At the roadside then there were just a handful of people, including local members of the Royal British Legion.
Two years on and the handful has turned into thousands, despite the rain forcing many undercover.
The people of Bassett, as it is known locally, pay their respects at the latter point of a fallen soldier's journey home.
WO1 Chant was killed in Nad'e Ali in Helmand Province, some 10 minutes by helicopter from Camp Bastion.
Soldiers there would have bidden farewell at an evening memorial service before he and the five others killed were flown back in a Hercules transport plane.
The hub for British repatriation is the Wiltshire air base RAF Lyneham, about 90 miles from Portsmouth.
Families wait there – five miles from Bassett – and get their first chance to be reunited with lost loved ones at private services.
After each family have had their time, the bodies are driven in hearses via the crowds in Bassett, where family members will also gather.
Before the soldiers are taken to the John Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford this is the final, poignant and public welcome home to those who have made the highest sacrifice.
Also see: Our section dedicated to Darren Chant
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Friday 25 May 2012
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