Local soldier killed in Iraq (From Free Press Series)

Local soldier killed in Iraq

A WELSH Guards officer from Monmouthshire killed in Iraq on New Year's day has been praised as great leader of men.

Major James Stenner, 30, whose family live in Penallt, was one of two British soldiers to die when the vehicle in which they were travelling hit a wall in Baghdad.

It is believed that Major Stenner had been involved with secret missions in the Iraqi capital.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said that Major Stenner was not serving in the Welsh Guards at the time of the incident but had been deployed on Special Services operations.

One friend, Major Richard Stanford, also of the Welsh Guards, served with Major Stenner and said: "This is a very sad loss both to his family and his regiment.

"Major Stenner stood out as a great leader of men who was enormously well-respected.

"He was a highly professional and very dedicated officer."

Major Stenner, known as Jimmy, was educated at the Cathedral School in Hereford and joined the army in 1990, his father Alan lives in the Wye Valley village of Penallt.

Major Stenner, awarded the Military Cross for bravery at the start of the Gulf War II, is married and lives in the Eign Hill area of Hereford.

He became the highest-ranking British serviceman to die in Iraq but had been widely tipped to become the Commanding Officer of 22 SAS Regiment.

The accident during the early hours of New Year's Day also claimed the life of Sergeant Norman Patterson, 28, of the Cheshire Regiment.

The MoD delayed announcing their deaths until Monday so that relatives could be informed and said that the loss of life was not related to any hostile activity and added that the vehicle appeared to have hit concrete barriers forming a security ring around a Coalition base.