How I’ll always remember them

Marine’s tattoo tribute to seven dead comrades

COVERING the former Marine’s upper back, this tattoo is a poignant tribute to Rob French’s fallen friends.

Each of the seven red poppies represents a colleague killed in Afghanistan and is a constant reminder of their sacrifice.

They died within weeks of each other in December 2008, during one of the bloodiest periods of the conflict.

Marine Damian Davies, Sergeant John Manuel and Corporal Marc Birch died when a 13-year-old suicide bomber approached them with a wheelbarrow packed with explosives. Lance Corporal Steven ‘Jamie’ Fellows was blown up in a separate incident the same day.

Georgie Sparks and Tony Evans were killed by insurgents armed with rocketpropelled grenades during a foot patrol in Helmand province. Lance Corporal Benjamin Whatley, 20, was killed by enemy fire during a fierce battle on Christmas Eve. The seven were among 454 British forces personnel or MoD civilians who died in Afghanistan.

Mr French, 35, a former lance corporal who was discharged in 2015 after nine years in the Marines, said: ‘Two of them were very, very good friends of mine and the other five were people I met and fought with out there.

‘I am always remembering them, especially on Remembrance Sunday. I carry on with my life but with them on

‘For me, every day is Remembrance Day’

my back they are always with me.’ Mr French, from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was a special constable and trained as a tree surgeon before joining the Marines in 2006. Now a swimming instructor, he revealed his tattoo as he urged people to support the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, which last year raised £146.9million.

‘Around this time of year, the public start wearing poppies to show that they remember the fallen, but for me and all the other servicemen and women who have been to war, every single day is Remembrance Day,’ he said. ‘ That’s why I will always wear my poppies.’

Mr French, who is married, had his tattoo started in November 2015.

‘I decided to get the tattoo to place the reminder on my back so that they are with me and behind me pushing me on,’ he said.

‘I have always carried the weight of Ben Whatley’s death on my shoulders as he was killed on Christmas Eve two weeks after I was sent home. I have always felt that if I was there I may have been selected to take that position on the same rooftop, and therefore taken the round that hit Ben. I still live with that guilt.

‘I have used Ben’s name as my first-born son Joseph’s middle name and I will make sure he knows where the name came from and what price Ben paid so I could come home and become a dad.’

Mr French sustained a wrist injury that left his arm almost useless and suffers what he describes as a disorder similar to post-traumatic stress. ‘The Royal British Legion helped with treatment... and also with legal advice as I had to go through a tribunal because I was injured,’ he said. He has released a poem in tribute to those who have fallen in conflicts. Part of it, addressed to L/Cpl Whatley, reads: ‘I owe you my life so I will make it a good one, full of love and happiness and a lot of good fun. I hope to live till I’m old and die peacefully in bed, with that soft pillow under my head.

‘I will see you again be it hot or it cold, until then I will make sure your story is told. I hope you will be waiting holding open the gates, all I want is a slap on my back and to see all of our mates.’ Mr French, whose grandfathers both served in the Second World War, hopes to compete as a swimmer at a future Invictus Games.

Permanent reminder: Rob French’s tattoo. Inset: On duty in Afghanistan

MARINE TONY EVANS, 20, from Sunderland. His parents said: ‘Tony was the type who would do anything to help friends and family. The Royal Marines was his life since the age of 13 when he became a cadet. We are very proud of what he achieved and will...

MARINE DAMIAN DAVIES, 27, from Telford. His funeral took place on Christmas Eve. He left a young son, Matthew, and pregnant wife, Joanne, who said: ‘Damian was the most wonderful caring husband and daddy we could have ever wished for.’

SGT JOHN MANUEL, 38, from Gateshead. Veteran of Iraq, Belize and Kosovo, he was near the end of his service and planned to be a police motorcycle instructor. His commanding officer called him ‘a larger than life character’ and the ‘backbone’ of his...

L/CPL BEN WHATLEY, 20, from Tittleshall, Norfolk. Had wanted to be a Marine since he was 12. His parents said the 6ft 5in soldier was ‘a vibrant, happy person who had an unbridled enthusiasm for life’. His CO said he was ‘a fighter, a man’s man, a...

L/CPL STEVEN ‘JAMIE’ FELLOWS, 26, from Sheffield. Married, he joined the Marines at 24 and was awarded the King’s Badge as best recruit in his troop. He was also a talented boxer. His commanding officer said: ‘We have lost a future leader of undoubted...

MARINE GEORGIE SPARKS, 19, from Epping, Essex. An expert sniper, his funeral took place on what would have been his 20th birthday. Had always wanted to be a Marine, despite his relatively small stature. ‘We have lost our best friend as well as our...

CPL MARC BIRCH, 26, from Northampton. He was buried at the church where four months earlier he had wed his sweetheart. His father Darryl said: ‘All he ever wanted was to become a Royal Marine commando.’ He was described as ‘courageous, warmhearted,...