‘Forgotten’ families visit war memorial

A GROUP of bereaved relatives have paid an emotional first visit to a war memorial, after many loved ones were controversially not invited to or told about its unveiling.

The Iraq and Afghanistan memorial was opened by the Queen at a service in March, an event attended by 2,500 people including former prime ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron and senior royals.

Organisers faced criticism from some of the bereaved, who said they had not received an invitation or been made aware the ceremony was taking place.

Widow Wendy Rayner and bereaved mothers Julie Hall and Tracy Dunn-Bridgeman visited the memorial in London yesterday, saying it was important to them to see it in person.

Ms Hall lost her son Kingsman Darren Deady after he was shot in Afghanistan in 2010 aged 23.

Tearfully, the 52-year-old from Westhoughton in Bolton said: “It is bittersweet, bitter because it brings it all back but sweet because I remember him.”

Ms Rayner’s husband, Sergeant Peter Rayner, was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) during a routine patrol in Afghanistan in 2010. At the time of the unveiling the florist, from Bradford, said some relatives felt they had been “forgotten”.

Ms Dunn-Bridgeman, from Liverpool, said she had booked time off from her job as a medical secretary on the understanding she had been invited to the unveiling.

Her son, Kingsman Jason Dunn-Bridgeman, died aged 20 in Afghanistan in 2009. She said she understood not everyone could be invited to the memorial, but the handling of the invites had made her feel “disrespected”.