Hero Army Dog Handlers Honoured

Murdered soldiers who worked with specialist 'sniffer' dogs during the Northern Ireland Troubles have been remembered.

The 'Red Paw' and its work across Northern Ireland was the subject of a special memorial service held in England at the weekend.

It was in honour of the six dog handlers and two sniffer dogs killed in Northern Ireland.

Called The Red Paw Memorial, the event was named after the badge worn by the members of the Army Dog Unit which was founded in May 1973 and wound up in August 2007.

The service - at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire - was organised by the founders of the unit and was conducted by ex-soldier the Rev Stuart Walker, now a Church of England clergyman.

The first of two soldiers killed, along with their dogs, were Corporal Brian Brown from Ballynahinch ,37, a UDR soldier and father-of-four who died on May 28, 1986, when a bomb exploded at a garage in Kilkeel.

He was posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal, having died along with his Golden Labrador, Oliver.

Corporal Brian Hayes died with his Golden Labrador Ben in a massive 1,400 bomb near Crossmaglen on May 21, 1988.

He was a member of the Royal Pioneer Corps and a 28-year-old married man with one child.

Also killed in various bomb incidents during the Troubles were dog handlers Corporal Brian Criddle BEM, a member of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, in July 1973; Sapper Malcolm Orton, a Royal Engineer, in September 1973; Lance Corporal Peter Hampson of the Parachute Regiment in December 1981; and Corporal Terry O'Neill of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers in May 1991.

Saturday's event was organised by Eddie and Cathy Shinton of the dog unit and around 300 attended.

The Memorial Wall at the arboretum contains the names of all security forces personnel killed in various conflicts since the Second World War, including Northern Ireland, the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

(BMcC/KMcA)