THE inquest heard both men died doing a job they loved having always wanted to serve in the Army.
Corporal Webster’s widow Charlotte, 23, the mother of their two children Jess and Liam, told the inquest her husband, a former Blacon High School pupil, joined the Army aged 17 having always wanted to sign up.
Lance Corporal Cochran’s mum Shirley Price, from Holywell, confirmed her son joined up in 2006 and that she was very proud of him.
Speaking after the hearing, his fiancée Claire Brookshaw, 19, said they had been planning to get married this year after a three year relationship.
“He was a loving, caring, fiancé who died doing what he loved. It was an honour for him to serve his country and to be with his friends,” said Claire, from Wallasey, Merseyside, who has named her little dog ‘Alana’ after him.
Claire met Alan through her brother Ian because they served together. Her sibling even provided cover fire in the moments after the fatal incident, from the roof of an army compound just 400 metres away.
Ian, 23, who heard what happened over his radio, said he broke down in tears on learning of the death of his future brother-in-law, who was affectionately nicknamed ‘the colonel’ because he liked giving orders.
