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Recovered 18.03.2024 from www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/hero-soldiers-tragic-death-1005330
A DECORATED soldier has died following an accident in Iraq — the day before he was due to fly home to see his pregnant wife.
Sergeant Mark Stansfield died after sustaining serious injuries in an accident with a fork lift truck in Basra. The 32 year old was airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham but died on Friday with his family around him.
He had almost finished his four-month tour of Iraq — his third in the war-torn country — and was looking forward to being reunited with wife Joanne who is five months pregnant with the couple’s first child.
Mark, who lived in Oxfordshire, was born and brought up in Hollingworth and was a pupil at Longdendale High School.
https://www.militaryimages.net/media/stansfield-mark-anthony.72710/
https://www.britisharmedforcesthebest.com/post/2017/09/21/sergeant-mark-stansfield-32-close-support-squadron-royal-logistic-corps
Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2007, Sergeant Mark Stansfield, serving with 32 Close Support Squadron, Royal Logistic Corps, based in the Contingency Operating Base at Basra Air Station, died from injuries sustained in Iraq the previous week. He had been conducting security checks on the base’s ammunition supply point when he was seriously injured in an accident; he underwent surgery at the field hospital, then was treated at Selly Oak hospital in Birmingham, but sadly he could not be saved. Sergeant Stansfield had joined the army at the age of seventeen, and had served in the Balkans and Northern Ireland as well as Iraq. He is remembered as being a strong and principled soldier who took his mentoring and developmental role very seriously indeed. Lieutenant Colonel David Roberts, said: “He was a first class soldier and a very fine SNCO, admired by the soldiers he led and respected by everyone. Mark was utterly committed and loyal to the soldiers he served as Troop Sergeant. He consistently ensured their readiness for operations and was a mentor and guide through the very challenging and dangerous situations they faced. He never shied from responsibility and was always keen to be in the thick of the action, never expecting anyone to do something he would not do himself. He was a strong and effective leader who soldiers willingly followed. We are all very proud and privileged to have served alongside him.” Mark, from Oxfordshire, was aged 32 and was involved in the accident a day before being due to return home for the birth of his first child.