Memorial to soldiers is unveiled

A memorial wall honouring 12 soldiers who have died in service since the Falklands War has been unveiled.

Members of the 36 Engineer Regiment and their families gathered at Invicta Park Barracks in Maidstone, Kent, on Monday for the ceremony.

The memorial was commissioned after the deaths of L/Cpl Jake Alderton and L/Cpl Ivano Violino in Afghanistan in 2007.

The regiment decided to upgrade the existing memorial as a fitting tribute to the men.

The wall features a large plaque carved from Portland stone bearing the crests of the Corps, the Regiment and the Queen's Gurkha Engineers.

Honour the pair

L/Cpl Alderton, 22, of Bexley, south-east London, died after the vehicle he was travelling in rolled off a bridge near the town of Sangin in Helmand province on 9 November 2007.

The wall will honour the 12 soldiers who have died in recent years

L/Cpl Violino, 29, of Salford, who was known as Sean, was killed when an army dump truck was hit by an explosion on 17 September 2007, also in Helmand province.

The memorial wall was commissioned after the regiment looked at a suitable way of honouring the pair.

The estimated £40,000 cost of the project was raised by soldiers and local businesses.

The families of both soldiers also donated money that had been given to them following the deaths.

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