Soldier killed trying to help wounded pal
A SOLDIER from Fareham was killed in Iraq as he tried to rescue a wounded colleague.
Weapons experts said Corporal Rodney Wilson, 30, was shot with the same insurgent-fired rifle that has also claimed six other British soldiers' lives during the campaign.
Cpl Wilson, of 4th Battalion The Rifles, was shot in the upper back when he ran out into heavy gunfire to pull Lance Corporal Jonathan 'Frenchie' LeGalloudec to safety during urban fighting with insurgents in Basra's Al Atiyah district on June 7.
Cpl Wilson, the 150th UK serviceman to die in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, was carrying L/Cpl LeGalloudec up a street when he was hit, an inquest at Trowbridge in Wiltshire heard. A third soldier, 2nd Lieutenant Charles Kilner, was also hit but survived.
Forensic analysis has shown that the bullet that killed Cpl Wilson was fired from the same weapon that has also killed six other UK servicemen, weapons expert Edward Wallace said.
It is almost certain that the gun responsible, probably an American weapon, was fired by the same individual, who has not yet been apprehended.
Recalling the incident, Lt Kilner told the hearing how Will, as Cpl Wilson was known, had beckoned him to help carry L/Cpl LeGalloudec.
Lt Kilner, of 4 Rifles, said: 'The next thing I knew was that I had been hit in my left arm, with which I was carrying L/Cpl LeGalloudec – at which point I looked over and Cpl Wilson was already on the floor. I fell to my knees. I saw Cpl Wilson. It appeared to me that he had been shot in the neck.'
Lt Kilner said he recalled L/Cpl LeGalloudec screaming in pain, having been shot in the lower back.
Cpl Wilson, based at Bulford, Wiltshire, died during an operation led by 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh to root out insurgents and seize firearms.
Wiltshire coroner David Masters gave the cause of death as gunshot wounds to the neck and chest. A high-velocity round hit him in the back, exiting via the chest and neck.
Mr Masters, recording a verdict of unlawful killing, said Cpl Wilson and Lt Kilner approached L/Cpl LeGalloudec 'unconcerned for their own safety despite the enormous danger.'
Cpl Wilson and 4 Rifles were at the time based at Basra Palace. They were involved in some of the fiercest urban fighting of the campaign as they fought to quell the Iraqi insurgency.
Captain Charles Maxwell, of 4 Rifles, told the inquest he had feared earlier that night that there might be a 'friendly fire' incident. He was hit twice in the right arm.
But he said: 'I still cannot work out where that round had come from.'
He added: 'Knowing what I know now, I am 99 per cent sure that it was not fired by friendly forces.'
The family of Corporal Rodney Wilson have spoken of their pride.
His father Richard and fiancee Michelle attended the inquest.
They said that his actions were typical of his nature.
Mr Wilson, also from Fareham, said afterwards: 'It is no surprise to me that Rodney did what he did – I wish he had not done it, but if he had not, he would not have been the man I knew.
'I am hugely proud of him. I was just incredulous that I played a part in producing a lad like him.'
Mr Wilson said he had since met L/Cpl LeGalloudec, who is still recovering from his injuries.
'Frenchie told me, "As soon as I was hit, I knew I was going to be all right because Rodney would come to get me",' he added.
The actions of Cpl Wilson were also praised by his commanding officer.
Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sanders, commander of 4 Rifles, said: 'Where Cpl Wilson led, others would always follow. He was, in the words of his own Riflemen, a legend.'
The total number of UK troops killed in operations in Iraq is 174.
The latest person to be killed is a member of 1st Battalion The Scots Guards following a road accident in Basra province on December 12.
A total of 86 UK troops have also been killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001.
Of those killed, 26 died from accidents, illness, or non-combat injuries, according to the Ministry of Defence.
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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