Armed Forces flag flown at half-mast above Wallasey Town Hall in tribute to two fallen Wirral soldiers

Jun 30 2010 by Matt Hurst, Heswall News

AN ARMED forces flag was flown at half-mast above Wallasey Town Hall in tribute to two Wirral soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Private Douglas Niall Halliday, 20, from Wallasey, Private Alex Isaac, 20, from Liscard, died alongside their colleagues Colour Sergeant Martyn Simon Horton, 34, from Runcorn and Lance Corporal David Ramsden, 26, from Leeds, when the vehicle they were in overturned into the Nahr-e Bughra canal.

The incident happened when the team were responding to an attack on a police checkpoint near Gereshk, in Helmand Province.

Comrades were unable to save the men and they died shortly after 10pm on Wednesday.

The crash is not thought to have been caused by enemy action.

Wirral Council leader, Cllr Jeff Green said a decision had been reached to fly the flag at half-mast, after the men’s deaths were confirmed.

Cllr Green said: “Because it was Armed Forces Day, the chief executive and I discussed it and agreed we should have the armed forces flag outside Wallasey Town Hall, flying at half-mast.”

The three Mersey men were all from 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment.

Pte Halliday joined the army in 2008 and served in Northern Ireland and Kenya before being deployed to Afghanistan.

His family described him as “the life and soul of the party” and said he will be missed by all. They added: “He did us all proud and lived by the family motto; Sis Justus nec timeas – be just and fear not.”

Pte Isaac’s family members paid a number of tributes to their “brave” soldier, who had been with the regiment since 2008.

His mother, Annette, said: “My beautiful darling son who was a fighter, and so brave, you will always be in my heart, my soul and my thoughts. God bless.”

His grandmothers Elizabeth Isaac and Vera Delamare, described the soldier as a “wonderful grandson” and said his smiling face will be sadly missed.

Their deaths took the number of British troops who have died in Afghanistan to 307.