Norman Gill with the president’s standard of the Guernsey branch of the Royal British Legion. (Picture by Tom Tardif)

ATTENDING the repatriation of the bodies of two servicemen killed in Afghanistan was an emotional experience for a former islander.

Norman Gill, 71, represented Guernsey in Wootton Bassett on Tuesday.

He bore the president’s standard of the Guernsey branch of the Royal British Legion while the bodies of Lance Corporal Scott Hardy, from Chelmsford, in Essex, and Private James Grigg, of Stradbroke, in Suffolk, passed through the Wiltshire town.

They were killed in the Helmand province after being hit by a bomb on 16 March.

‘I used to parade the standard for the Royal British Legion for nearly 10 years when I was living in Guernsey and I wanted to parade it when there was the next repatriation,’ he said.

‘I was informed that there was one going to be on Tuesday so we arranged for the standard to be sent over and then I organised to go.

‘It’s all about honouring the fallen and I thought it would be nice for Guernsey to be honouring the fallen too.’

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