Terry returns safe from the Iraq front line

Jun 13 2008 by Allison Dickinson, Chester Chronicle

A SOLDIER has returned home from his first tour of duty in Iraq.

Corporal Terry Webster, 22, a former pupil of Blacon High School, was reunited with his wife Charlotte and two-year-old daughter Jessica when he landed at Catterick Garrison, Yorkshire last week.

This was his first tour of duty in Iraq, having previously served in Northern Ireland and the Falklands.

Cpl Webster was a section commander in a rifle platoon of B Company 1 Mercian, formerly known as the Cheshire Regiment. He spent the first three months of the tour in Basra and the second half in Baghdad.

He said: “In Basra we were looking after the internment facility, while in Baghdad we were providing protection for senior British military. We didn’t get off the contingency operating base much in Basra but we got out more when we reached Baghdad.

“Incidents were happening on a daily basis – car bombs, improvised explosive devices and contacts with the enemy. You would hear them go off and you would go straight into your drills. A lot of the time, the lads would just be having a laugh while all this was going on around them – that’s what soldiers are like!”

Cpl Webster lives in Catterick Garrison, Yorkshire, with his wife and daughter, while his mother, Julie Finlay, and sister Tegan still live in the Blacon area.

He joined the Army in 2003, first serving with the Royal Signals and then transferring to the infantry.

1 Mercian recruits largely from Cheshire, south of the Rivers Mersey and Tame, including Wirral.

The battalion deployed to Iraq in November 2007. A Company and B Company have both operated in Basra and Baghdad, while C Company has been responsible for the port city of Umm Qasr.

Major Alex Osborn, commanding B Company, said: “B Company’s soldiers have worked hard, taken every challenge in their stride and maintained their good humour throughout. They can be proud of a job well done.

“This is due in no small part to our families and friends back home, whose patience and support is as important as the best training and equipment. They deserve a medal!”

The Mercian Regiment is one of the Army’s newest regiments, having formed in September 2007 with the amalgamation of several neighbouring infantry regiments, including the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment.

As a result of the mergers, 1st Battalion The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment became 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire).