Wedding song for hero's funeral
A song chosen for the wedding of a Kidderminster soldier who died in Afghanistan will be played at his funeral as a poignant last goodbye from his fiancee.
Lance corporal Richard Brandon, aged 24, of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was killed after the supply vehicle he was driving hit a roadside bomb.
His fiancee Emma-Jayne Webster today said she wants Amazed by You by Bryan Adams played as his coffin is carried into St George's Church, Kidderminster at noon on Friday, October 2.
The couple, who have a daughter Kaitlin, aged three, planned to marry at Kidderminster Register Office next August.
L/Cpl Brandon had chosen the song for the couple's first dance.
Miss Webster, 27, of Kidderminster, said: "He really liked the song and wanted it played at the wedding. I listened to it the other day and the lyrics are really nice.
"Before he went to Afghanistan, he also chose the songs he wanted playing at the crematorium, if the worst should happen. He wanted Angels by Robbie William and Bon Jovi's Blaze of Glory."
She said everyone was welcome to attend the church service but only family and friends, military and former military personal will later gather at Stourbridge Crematorium.
The funeral will be followed by a wake at the Ramada Hotel, near Bewdley. L/Cpl Brandon also leaves two stepsons Martyn, aged 12 and Liam, nine.
Miss Webster has also welcomed plans by the Kidderminster mayor to hold a civic memorial service in his honour. Mayor Howard Martin said he felt it would be a "fitting tribute to this young man who died supporting his country".
