Family salute airman killed in Cyprus road smash
A young dad has been killed in a crash while serving abroad with the RAF as an engineer.
Steven Wainwright, who was only 29, died in a road collision at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, where Typhoon jets from Moray have been based while on operations against IS targets in Syria.
The RAF Lossiemouth airman, who lived in Elgin with his wife Rachel and their two children – three-year-old Thomas and 10-month-old Oscar – was promoted to corporal in October, just months after his second son was born.
His dad, William, said: “We, as a family, are deeply saddened. Steven was kind, loving and hardworking and will be missed more than words can say.
“He was the life and soul of everything. He lived for his family and his children.
“Everybody loved him, former colleagues are now coming to Moray from as far as Australia to attend his funeral.”
Cpl Wainwright enlisted into the RAF in 2006 and his colleagues said he became cherished as “part of the RAF Lossiemouth family”.
Group Captain Jim Walls, station commander of the Moray airfield, said Cpl Wainwright was especially respected by colleagues for his “values as a family man”.
He said: “Cpl Wainwright was a member of our family here at RAF Lossiemouth and we all feel his loss deeply.
“He was a highly skilled individual who was a key part of our team.”