Fathers Of Iraq War Dead Split Over Raids

By David Bowden, Senior Correspondent

Few are better equipped to have an opinion on the wisdom or otherwise of sending British troops into action again in Iraq, than John Miller and John Hyde.

Both lost a son during the last Iraq war.

Both live with the consequences every day, trying to find answers, trying to stay strong for their families and particularly their wives, Marilyn and Sandra, who struggle, even now with losing their boys.

Corporal Simon Miller, 21, and Lance Corporal Ben Hyde, 23, were two of the six Red Caps, Royal Military Police, brutally killed by an angry mob in Majar al Kabir in southern Iraq on 24 June 2003.

Despite sharing such devastating losses in the fight to topple Saddam Hussein more than a decade ago, the two Johns have opposing views today on whether UK forces should intervene once again in the fate of Iraq.

Sitting in his spotless kitchen in Washington, Tyne and Wear, watched over by a poster-sized photograph of his fallen son, John Miller told me RAF airstrikes would only "fuel the fire" of extremists planning terrorist atrocities.

John Miller fears further military action in Iraq could fuel extremism

He says the UK and America should leave Arab states to take the lead on military intervention.

"We look at how the Arab world sees the Western world, particularly Britain and America, over what happened in Iraq and it's only fuelling the fire. It's a recruiting programme.

"The securest thing for our countries would be not to be involved and it will not give them any reason to want to commit a terrorist attack in our country."

Mr Miller believes we have already opened what he calls "Pandora's box" in the Middle East and we will never be able to close it again.

He fears his son Simon and all those other British soldiers who have given their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan may have died in vain.

The UK could join US airstrikes as soon as this weekend

Islamic State and their brothers in arms, he says, are the consequence of the West's folly and further involvement will bring further UK casualties.

"I for one do not want to see another coffin draped in the Union Jack coming back to Brize Norton (RAF Airforce base), somebody else's family ruined for the rest of their lives for something we can't and never will be able to solve."

An hour down the road in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, John Hyde is more measured in his assessment of the prospect of UK airstrikes.

He speaks quietly because his wife Sandra has already gone to bed. It's only 8.30pm , but she finds any media discussion of Ben too harrowing to face.

He is in favour of any assistance the UK can offer in Iraq with the exception of "boots on the ground".

"Anything short of that we should give," he says.

John Hyde thinks the UK should provide Iraq with all the support it can

"Training troops, advice, air support, anything we can give, because in the end the outcome must be positive.

"It's an international problem and I think it is something the international community should solve."

Mr Hyde channels much of his energy into running a memorial trust in honour of Ben, which has so far raised more than £100,000.

He often doesn't go to bed until 4am because he's working on his computer.

The screensaver - a picture of his dead son in his dress uniform.

There is no shortage of other memorabilia too; a sequence of pictures of Ben as a young boy, a commemorative certificate signed by the Queen and even a small wooden box with a brass plaque containing Ben's DNA, which had been held by the Ministry of Defence.

The Millers' home also proudly displays mementos of their son, Simon, who died for Queen and Country and who fills their thoughts every single day.

The Millers and the Hydes are just two of the hundreds of families of fallen soldiers who have given their lives fighting Britain's wars in the past decade.

Doubtless every single one of them will have their own views on whether more UK forces should put themselves in harm's way this time around.

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