Dog Soldiers: Love, loyalty and sacrifice on the front line
Dog Soldiers tells the story of two brave young ‘dog soldiers’ (Army bomb dog handlers), killed in action in Afghanistan with their dogs by their side, through the inspirational words of their mothers.Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe and Lance Corporal Liam Tasker were both dog lovers from boyhood and went on to do the job they had always wanted to do. Through the soldiers’ mothers – Lyn Rowe and Jane Duffy – the book will take the reader on a journey and a celebration of the young men’s lives that begins with the two young boys growing up and fulfilling their dream to serve Queen and country as Army dog handlers – Ken Rowe with his dog, Sasha, and Liam Tasker with his canine partner, Theo. Both mothers acknowledge that their sons signed up to do the job they loved best and fell with their loyal and trusted best friend beside them.Jane Duffy said of her son, Liam Tasker: ‘I know my son died doing the job he loved. And he loved that dog as I loved my son, with every ounce of his being. To lose Liam was and still is unbearable. But for Liam to have survived without Theo? Unthinkable.’
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HarperElement
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First published by HarperElement 2016
FIRST EDITION
© Isabel George 2016
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016
Front cover photographs (soldier) © Crown 2016, Ministry of Defence, published with kind permission of the family of Lance Corporal Liam Tasker.
All other images © Shutterstock.com
A catalogue record of this book is
available from the British Library
Isabel George asserts the moral right to be
identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780008148065
Ebook Edition © January 2016 ISBN: 9780008148089
Version: 2015-11-26
Contents
1 Please God, look after him …
3 For Queen and country – The Troubles
4 The dogs of war – deployment to Afghanistan
8 Stay safe. Love you loads, son xxxx
9 Take one soldier and his warrior dog
Northern Ireland border, Clogher, County Tyrone, 23 July 1973
Corporal Bryan Criddle RAVC was injured when an IRA bomb, hidden in a milk churn, was detonated remotely. He died due to head injuries four days later. His dog, Jason, was blown 30 feet in the air but survived.
Northern Ireland, Kilkeel, 28 May 1986
Corporal Brian Brown QGM from Ballynahinch was a member of 3 UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment) and had been awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal for his service in Northern Ireland. He lost his life on 28 May 1986 when a bomb exploded at a garage in Kilkeel. Oliver, his search dog, was also killed in the blast. The ashes of the faithful Yellow Labrador were buried with his master.
Northern Ireland, Crossmaglen, 21 May 1988
Corporal Derek Hayes of the Royal Pioneer Corps died with his Army search dog, Ben, when an IRA booby trap bomb exploded. Cpl Hayes and Ben were on patrol in Crossmaglen when they were asked to investigate a partly hidden box in a ditch but as they approached the device exploded, killing them both. The ashes of the faithful Yellow Labrador were buried alongside the soldier.
Northern Ireland, Belfast, 25 May 1991
Corporal Terry ‘Geordie’ O’Neill was the victim of a ‘coffee-jar’ bomb (Semtex, nails, bolts and ball bearings). He was killed instantly. Darren ‘Swifty’ Swift, his fellow handler, standing alongside him, lost both legs in the attack, which took place as the two soldiers exercised their dogs in the yard of the Army Dog Unit. Several dogs were injured in the blast, including Geordie’s dog, Blue, and Swifty’s dog, Troy.
Four dog soldiers lost their lives during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, between 1973 and 1991. The conflict in Afghanistan was to claim the next man and dog.
As you made your way to the kennels at Camp Bastion it’s said you could hear, from metres away, the dogs preparing their noisy welcome. Your walk would take you past innumerable dust-covered vehicles, and around you men and women in desert fatigues moved with constant purpose as life played out on the British Forces base in Afghanistan.
In among these scenes of everyday life stood memorials to the fallen – like markers among the living. Sand-coloured walls of Remembrance and glistening brass crosses rose defiant against the Afghan sky, bearing the names of the mighty and the brave: the men, women and dogs killed in action since the conflict began in 2001.
The memorial to the fallen dog soldiers wasn’t easy to miss: it wasn’t meant to be. And it wasn’t hewn from traditional cold stone or rock. The lovingly carved wooden paw linked with metal chains was created by members of the RAVC (Royal Army Veterinary Corps) in honour of their own. It bore the names of two brave young soldiers and their loyal bomb dogs: Lance Corporal Kenneth Rowe and his dog Sasha, and Lance Corporal Liam Tasker and his dog Theo.
The men and their dogs died in the line of fire. The RAVC lost two men and dogs, and two mothers lost their sons.
The two boys grew up with a love of animals – especially dogs – and a desire to not just do a job but enjoy their chosen career. To them, life was too precious to waste on doing something that meant nothing. They were lucky, as they both had the support of their families, and when the RAVC became their second home it was a choice their mothers understood. The love of dogs was in their blood, an echo from childhood, and it had found its way through again. And for both mothers there was one massive comfort: their sons would never be lonely with a dog at their side.
