Tragic Iraq girl's medal presented at special service

FRIENDS and colleagues of a Stourport teenager who died last year from a brain haemorrhage met to remember the youngster at a special memorial service.

Spoken and musical tributes were paid to Victoria Turner at St Bartholomew's Church, Stourport.

Her parents, Mark and Marlene, received the Gulf Medal on her behalf. The medal is to be presented to all those who took part in the conflict, codenamed Operation Telic.

The 19-year-old died in April, 2004, less than a year after returning from Iraq where she was a member of the Royal Corps of Signals.

Major Rab Young, the signal squadron leader, led the tributes at the May 7 service, which was attended by more than 100 people.

Her father is the rector at the church. He said: "Her brother, Russel, gave a moving address. Her auntie Mary also read a poem and her sister, Rachel, played the flute."

Mr Turner added: "It was very much a celebration of her life. We had singing and clapping and we listened to some of her favourite music."

People came from all over the country to pay their respects, he said.

Miss Turner, who went to school in Lincoln and moved to Stourport with her family in 2003, suffered a brain haemorrhage at her York barracks on April 8 last year. She died the next day.

She was posted to Kuwait in January, 2003, and set up lines of communication in preparation for the conflict which began two months later.