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27/11/2012
Mother Wins Right To Soldier Husband's DNA
A mother has won the right to prove her fiancé was the father of their daughter before he was killed on patrol in Afghanistan.
19-year-old Emma Hickman was engaged to Private Daniel Wade, yet was unable to legally name him as the father to their daughter due to a legal issue over his DNA.
Pte Wade of 3rd Batttalion, Yorkshire Regiment, died in March in a Taliban bomb-attack, three months before his daughter Lexie-Mai was born.
Because the two were unmarried, Miss Hickman had to wrangle with the Ministry of Defence to get his DNA released so she could prove paternity.
Last month David Cameron described it as a "dreadful situation" and said it "could not be allowed to continue".
Proof that Pte Wade was the father has now been released, meaning Lexie-Mai and her family can now claim compensation.
Miss Hickman said: "It has never ever been about the money; it is about Lexie-Mai's right to know who her father is. Dan was so looking forward to being a daddy. He used to carry her scan picture with him under his body armour when he went out on patrol. He helped me choose her name and was so proud he was going to be a father."
Miss Hickman's solicitor Jennifer Roulston, of QualitySolicitors Forshaws Davies Ridgway in Warrington, said: "It is appalling that Emma's trauma at losing her fiancé just before the birth of her daughter should be compounded by this legal wrangle to establish her fiance's paternity. We are delighted Daniel's family has agreed to release the DNA sample and Daniel's paternity has at last been established. Emma is so relieved she can finally enter his name on her daughter's birth certificate."
Pte Wade, 20, died in Helmand when his Warrior armoured fighting vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb.
(IT/GK)
19-year-old Emma Hickman was engaged to Private Daniel Wade, yet was unable to legally name him as the father to their daughter due to a legal issue over his DNA.
Pte Wade of 3rd Batttalion, Yorkshire Regiment, died in March in a Taliban bomb-attack, three months before his daughter Lexie-Mai was born.
Because the two were unmarried, Miss Hickman had to wrangle with the Ministry of Defence to get his DNA released so she could prove paternity.
Last month David Cameron described it as a "dreadful situation" and said it "could not be allowed to continue".
Proof that Pte Wade was the father has now been released, meaning Lexie-Mai and her family can now claim compensation.
Miss Hickman said: "It has never ever been about the money; it is about Lexie-Mai's right to know who her father is. Dan was so looking forward to being a daddy. He used to carry her scan picture with him under his body armour when he went out on patrol. He helped me choose her name and was so proud he was going to be a father."
Miss Hickman's solicitor Jennifer Roulston, of QualitySolicitors Forshaws Davies Ridgway in Warrington, said: "It is appalling that Emma's trauma at losing her fiancé just before the birth of her daughter should be compounded by this legal wrangle to establish her fiance's paternity. We are delighted Daniel's family has agreed to release the DNA sample and Daniel's paternity has at last been established. Emma is so relieved she can finally enter his name on her daughter's birth certificate."
Pte Wade, 20, died in Helmand when his Warrior armoured fighting vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb.
(IT/GK)
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