Farewell to hero guardsman

Jul 27 2007 By Nick McCarthy, Birmingham Mail

MOURNERS lined the streets in pouring rain to say a sad final farewell to a brave Birmingham soldier killed in action while protecting colleagues in Afghanistan.

Grenadier Guardsman Daryl Hickey was shot dead as he provided covering fire whilst fellow soldiers attacked a Taliban position in the Gereshk region of Helmand on July 12.

Fifty guards in ceremonial uniform were on parade for the 27-year-old devoted Blues fan from Rutland Drive, Yardley.

His sister, Elaine, read a eulogy at the service in the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church on Coventry Road.

In an emotional reading she talked about her childhood with her brother and said: `I want to take this opportunity to tell Daryl how much I love him, how much I'm going to miss him and how I could never replace him. He really was one in a million.

''He'd be happy to see everybody here today to say goodbye and he'd take honour in his prestigious send off and the joining of his two passions - the Army and his family.''

A statement from his mother Bridget said: `His passing has left a huge hole that I cannot begin to imagine ever being filled.

''He was proud to be a guardsman it was something he lived and died for, we are all so very proud of him.

''They say that everyone has faults but I couldn't find one in Daryl.

''I want him to be remembered as the loyal, loving and generous son that he was to me and the devoted brother he was to his younger sister Elaine.

''We pray for the safe return of Daryl's comrades in the Grenadier Guards and ask God that no other families have to suffer such an unbearable loss.''

Before joining the Army in 2001 Daryl had jobs as a milkman and at Birmingham International Airport.

He had served in Iraq and Northern Ireland and was due home on leave next month.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Coun Randall Brew, attended the service as did a representative of the Archbishop of Birmingham.

A piper from the London Irish Rifles played as the coffin and mournbers exited the church.

Guardsman Hickey was buried in Solihull and the wake was held in Birmingham.

Guardsman Hickey's commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Carew Hatherley, flew in from Afghanistan for the service.

He was also due to meet the family of fellow fallen Grenadier Guards Jeremy Brookes and Daniel Probyn, from Kings Heath and Dudley, who were buried last month, as well as visiting patients at the military hospital in Selly Oak.

Lt Col Hatherley said Daryl Hickey was "a good bloke and a team player", exactly what he wanted in his soldiers.

But what really stood out was the way in which he died.

"There was some particularly ferocious fighting with a group of Taliban and he died moving forward standing shoulder to shoulder with his mates. I can't ask any more from my soldiers."

He said the day was "bittersweet"".

"I'm proud to have known him and I'm proud to be here. I came in to see the families of all those who have died in Afghanistan and to see my guys in Selly Oak.

"I've met the families of Guardsmen Simon Davidson and Daniel Probyn and they are showing the utmost dignity.

"It is tiring and emotionally draining but it's an honour and a privilige."