Private John Randell
He
was born on the 27th July 1973 at Slough, and grew up in the
Village of Langley. He had a keen interest in Sports and was an avid
follower of Millwall Football club.
He
Joined the Army in 1991 and passed his recruit training at the Prince of
Wales Division, Litchfield. He joined the 1st Battalion in
Catterick where he was posted to ‘B’ Company. He there settled into
the testing pace of life demanded by the Battalions role in an Air
Mobile Brigade. He was a member of the Battalion Athletic team, and had
started to develop an interest in Golf.
On
26th June 1993, whilst on Patrol to the South of the Village
of Newton Hamilton in South Armagh he was murdered by a single shot. He
was 19 years of age.
The
Regimental History ‘Cold War Warrior’ reads :-
“
Just after 7 o’ clock one team, led by Cpl TRAVERS, skirted to the
South West of the town in order to cover the other two teams as they
moved across the valley which runs out of the base to the south. As the
forward team of these two took cover behind a grass bank a single
muffled shot rang out. Although it was heard clearly along the valley,
the noise of the shot was almost drowned out by the drums and other
instruments that were by then playing at full volume in the town.
As
the soldiers of the forward teams tried to ascertain the location of the
firing point, Lt TELFER called to the members of his fire team to
confirm they were alright. It was then he realized that Pte JOHN RANDELL
had not responded, and so he ran quickly and searched for him amongst
the tall reeds by a nearby stream bed where the teams had taken cover.
He soon found Pte RANDELL, lying on the ground where he had fallen
wounded when the gunman’s bullet had struck him.
Meanwhile
Cpl TRAVERS fire team saw three unarmed men running away to a car from
what was later identified as the firing point some 150 meters to his
front.
Despite
attempts by the ‘B’ Company Medic to keep him alive he later died of
his wounds at Newry Hospital.”
His
Funeral Service at Langley was well attended by all members of the
Regimental Family, and in particular by his Comrades from the 1st
Battalion.
Sources-Regimental
Journal & Regimental History ‘Cold War Warrior’
