Cannon fodder
Devastating indictment of Afghan war by parents of hero soldier killed in action, as UK forces pull out
THE heartbroken parents of a Scots soldier killed in Afghanistan say they feel he ‘died in vain’ as British troops are pulled out of the region, despite fears of a Taliban resurgence.
Stephen Monkhouse was 28 when he was shot in the neck by a Taliban fighter and died on July 21, 2010.
The lance corporal in the 1st Battalion The Scots Guards had been trying to help colleague Matthew Stenton, 23, who also died, as they battled to defend a convoy.
Both men were awarded the Military Cross, one of the highest gallantry honours.
Mr Monkhouse had been counting the days until his leave began and he could go home to Greenock, Renfrewshire, and see his three-year-old son Brandon when he was killed in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province.
His parents, Billy Monkhouse, 62, and his ex-wife Linda Muir, 60, believe he was ‘cannon fodder’ in a war which was a ‘complete waste of time’.
As the 11th anniversary of his death approaches, driving instructor Mr Monkhouse said: ‘Afghanistan was a complete waste of time. Who was ever going to take over from the coalition forces when they decided to withdraw, because the Taliban were not going away?
‘There is too much money in drugs and oil there for them. There was no way they were going to leave it and accept defeat. Billions of pounds were wasted.’
He added: ‘It was all for nothing. This war was not worth the loss of my son and that of so many others. I’ve learned to live with the fact that he – like lots of working-class lads who went out there – was cannon fodder.’
Stephen Monkhouse’s son, Brandon, now 13, has kept the Military Cross, which the soldier received in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
Mother-of-four Miss Muir, who now lives in Spain, said: ‘I hate Afghanistan. It took my son away. He was so full of life. He was so loving and so funny.
‘Before he left, he gave me a big hug and I told him to keep his head down. I was always petrified that he would be killed. He used to tell me not to worry, that he wouldn’t get shot.
‘Stephen was a proud Scot and he was doing something he loved. He died counting down the days to his leave.’
The soldier was the oldest of four siblings. His father recalled how Stephen’s younger brother Allan, now 35, had called him after seeing men in black suits approaching the house.
Mr Monkhouse added: ‘I was on my way to a driving lesson and Allan phoned me from his mum’s house and said there were a couple of guys there from
‘War not worth loss of my son’
the Army in black suits. I had a fair idea what they had come to tell us, but I was hoping Stephen was only wounded.
‘When it used to come along the bottom of the TV news, “Soldier killed in Afghanistan, family have been informed”, you were always holding your breath. That day it was us.’