Guardsman who died in Afghanistan is laid to rest

THE death of an “exceptionally talented” Welsh guardsman killed last month in Afghanistan was “an enormous loss” to the battalion, a fellow army major said yesterday.

Major Dai Bevan of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was speaking outside the funeral of Major Sean Birchall, 33, who died in an explosion in central Helmand Province on June 19.

Major Birchall, whose father is from Wrexham, was laid to rest following a Roman Catholic service at the Guards Chapel in London’s Wellington Barracks.

The coffin was carried out of the church on the shoulders of pallbearers from the Welsh Guards, accompanied by piper Lance Corporal David Barnett of the Scots Guards.

The family then left along with the hearse for a private burial elsewhere.