Engraver starts work on names of fallen heroes
The process of engraving the names of 53 British servicemen and servicewomen who were killed in 2012 – including a soldier from the Black Country –has begun at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Engraver Nick Hindle started the task of engraving the names on the Armed Forces Memorial in Alrewas, Staffordshire.
Mr Hindle is expected to be there for the next month as he engraves the names of 43 Army personnel, five Royal Marines and five RAF personnel.
Every year, the names of servicemen and servicewomen are engraved, and there are already 16,000 names on the memorial.
The names of those killed will be read out and dedicated in a special service for families later in the year.
Wolverhampton-born Capt Rupert Bowers, of 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, died after he stepped on a bomb while on routine patrol.
The 24-year-old, who attended Oldwinsford Hospital School in Stourbridge, lived in Rutland with wife Victoria and baby son Hugo.
He became a father the month before his death while home on leave.
At the time of the explosion, the soldier had been attached to 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, operating as an adviser to the Afghan National Army.
Last April, more than 250 mourners turned out for a full military funeral in Moreton Corbet near Shawbury where his family now lives.
His old schoolmates recently launched a Help for Hugo appeal to make sure his family have enough money to raise his son.
