Bodies of servicemen killed in Afghanistan repatriated

The bodies of three servicemen killed in Afghanistan have returned to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.

The three men were killed in separate incidents while on routine patrols in May.

Two of the men, Cpl Stephen Curley, 26, from Dewsbury, and Marine Scott Taylor, 21, from Buxton, were based at 40 Commando in Taunton in Somerset.

Gunner Zak Cusack, 20, from Stoke-on-Trent, was from the 4th Regiment Royal Artillery.

A private service will be held at the chapel in RAF Lyneham before the funeral cortege drives through the nearby town of Wootton Bassett where people line the high street as a mark of respect.

Gunner Cusack was killed on 26 May by small arms fire from insurgent forces while on routine patrol.

Lt Col Chris Squier said: "Gunner Zak Cusack was a big man with the personality to go with it.

"A Stoke City fan in the North East Gunners will always have his work cut out, but his combination of cheeky charm and buoyant character always won out."

Cpl Curley was killed on foot patrol in a separate incident on the same day.

He lived in Exeter with wife Kirianne and their baby son.

Mrs Curley said: "It is impossible for me to express what my husband meant to me - daddy to our 18-week-old son, William, and my partner in crime. Stevie was my purpose, what makes me tick.

"A man of few but powerful words when it mattered, he lived by the motto 'if you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room'. This will be forever imprinted on our hearts."

Marine Taylor was killed on 30 May by an explosion while he was part of a foot patrol, in the area around Sangin.

Lt Col Paul James said: "Marine Scott Taylor was everything I needed in a bootneck - proud but not arrogant, loyal but still independent, courageous but not foolhardy, he was an outstanding marine."