:00:02. > :00:04.Welcome to Wootton Bassett. Four years ago most people had not heard
:00:04. > :00:09.of this town. But, in 2007, repatriation flights from
:00:09. > :00:13.Afghanistan and Iraq started coming in just a few miles down the road.
:00:13. > :00:15.The cortege would make its way from the airbase to Oxford to the John
:00:15. > :00:17.Radcliffe Hospital where post- mortem examinations would be
:00:17. > :00:25.carried out. When people saw the coffins coming through, they
:00:25. > :00:32.started standing in the High Street in silence to pay their respects.
:00:32. > :00:35.They have done that more than 160 times. But now the repatriation
:00:35. > :00:38.flights are going back to RAF Brize Norton, which means the
:00:38. > :00:43.extraordinary scenes we had seen here are coming to an end. In this
:00:43. > :00:52.special programme, we will look back at what we have seen here. We
:00:53. > :01:02.will ask how it started and how it There was no direct order that we
:01:02. > :01:08.should do this or that. Everything just fell into place. We will hear
:01:08. > :01:14.from a couple whose teenage son was killed in Afghanistan. We will hear
:01:14. > :01:20.about the experience about coming here to grieve. It is a place we
:01:21. > :01:23.would not like to go back to for obvious, painful reasons. We will
:01:23. > :01:26.find out what is going to happen now that repatriations are
:01:26. > :01:33.returning to Brize Norton. How do people living there plan to pay
:01:33. > :01:37.their respects? These people have given the ultimate sacrifice, so if
:01:37. > :01:47.we cannot go and stand in the rain to pay our respects, that will not
:01:47. > :01:49.
:01:49. > :01:52.be an issue. -- that would be an issue. But, first, let us have a
:01:52. > :02:01.look back through the archives, at some of the unprecedented scenes we
:02:01. > :02:10.have witnessed here. Where I am April 2007, one of the very first
:02:10. > :02:20.repatriations through Wootton Back then just a few passers-by,
:02:20. > :02:30.
:02:30. > :02:40.Little did they know what they were Regardless of rank, or how they
:02:40. > :02:58.
:02:58. > :03:08.died, regardless of the time of The people of Wootton Bassett
:03:08. > :03:11.
:03:11. > :03:19.turned out in their hundreds every It never started as an organised
:03:19. > :03:25.event, just the local British Legion, but it grew and grew. Just
:03:25. > :03:28.an impromptu gathering. There was no order that we should just do
:03:28. > :03:34.this or that. Everything fell into place, it has been a series of
:03:34. > :03:43.accidents. We thought it would be our little group. There was no
:03:43. > :03:48.restriction on how many people came. Whoever wanted to join us and show
:03:48. > :03:52.their sympathy, and pay their respects, they were welcomed.
:03:52. > :03:58.the months went by, more and more people in Wootton Bassett chose to
:03:58. > :04:02.join them. Just ringing to let you know there is another repatriation
:04:02. > :04:05.on Friday... Every time a repatriation flight came into RAF
:04:05. > :04:14.Lyneham, they would call one another and arranged to stand in
:04:14. > :04:16.silence on the high street. People do usually come in smart dress.
:04:16. > :04:24.Before long, Wootton Bassett was attracting huge crowds and
:04:24. > :04:27.international attention. What has touched so many about what this
:04:27. > :04:34.town is doing is that it is so spontaneous, there was no politics
:04:34. > :04:44.involved. This show of respect has become the focus of national
:04:44. > :04:44.
:04:44. > :04:47.interest. Soon, grieving military families would come and stand with
:04:47. > :04:53.the people of Wootton Bassett as well as many others from outside
:04:53. > :04:57.the town. They do not have to be from Wiltshire. You do not have to
:04:57. > :05:02.be from Wootton Bassett. You do not have to be military or even a
:05:02. > :05:06.friend or family member. You can be anybody and turn up here. What
:05:07. > :05:10.happens in Wootton Bassett is totally divorced from politics. If
:05:10. > :05:13.you want to complain about the war, and get a message about whether it
:05:13. > :05:16.is right or wrong, the place to do that is Westminster. The
:05:16. > :05:21.politicians make the decisions, not the guys who were coming back
:05:21. > :05:28.through Wootton Bassett in their coffins. And it is not their
:05:28. > :05:32.families, they are as much victims as everyone else. There has been
:05:32. > :05:35.some comment about what happens in Wootton Bassett justifies war. But
:05:35. > :05:42.what I find is that people who make these comments have never been here
:05:42. > :05:45.for the repatriation. If they were to stand on the high street and
:05:45. > :05:47.listen to the bell tolling, listening to the families crying
:05:47. > :05:50.and waving on some occasions, watching the families putting
:05:50. > :06:00.flowers onto the tops of fear or hearses as they go down high street,
:06:00. > :06:05.
:06:05. > :06:08.they would know that what we do has nothing to do with glory. It is not
:06:08. > :06:12.just in Wootton Bassett itself, but all along the 40 mile route from
:06:12. > :06:21.RAF Lyneham to Oxford. They are not there because of the TV and media.
:06:21. > :06:24.There is no media out in the countryside. It is absolutely
:06:24. > :06:32.incredible that people in today's society, always in a rush, stop for
:06:32. > :06:36.that short period of time. They show a bit of honour for the fallen.
:06:36. > :06:44.There is a lot of things wrong in society, but I think we have got
:06:44. > :06:49.That archive footage gathered by news crews and by a BBC documentary
:06:49. > :06:52.team earlier this year. Every time there is a repatriation through
:06:52. > :06:59.Wootton Bassett High Street, that pub opens just for the families and
:06:59. > :07:08.friends of the fallen. It is just another way that this community
:07:08. > :07:12.responds and fulfils its role, providing a sanctuary to relatives.
:07:12. > :07:18.Today is just a normal market day, so it is only the locals who are in
:07:18. > :07:25.here. Let us have a chat with this man. He is wearing his medals.
:07:25. > :07:27.Hello to both of you. Let me ask you, you have been involved with
:07:27. > :07:35.the repatriation since the beginning, how have they changed
:07:35. > :07:42.this town? Well, I think it has changed it for the better on many
:07:42. > :07:45.occasions. It has always been a very friendly town but it is closer
:07:45. > :07:55.together now than it has ever been. There is a lovely ambience about
:07:55. > :07:59.
:07:59. > :08:04.the town. Before, people asked where did you come from? You'd say
:08:04. > :08:07.Wooton Bassett, where's that? But now everybody knows. It is all
:08:07. > :08:12.about showing respect for those who have given their lives to preserve
:08:12. > :08:18.freedom. You were the mayor of the town when they started, we have
:08:18. > :08:25.seen the footage when you were standing on the high street. You
:08:25. > :08:29.said you felt it perhaps has become too big, too much coverage. I think
:08:29. > :08:36.that is just about right. You are getting people coming in just to
:08:36. > :08:46.have a look about what is going on. For all the best reasons in the
:08:46. > :08:46.
:08:46. > :08:52.world, you can always get someone who does not belong here. Grief
:08:52. > :08:55.tourists? Yes, that sums it up. Soon it will be back to normal, the
:08:55. > :08:58.repatriation is coming to an end, but you are becoming Royal Wootton
:08:58. > :09:02.Bassett - the first new Royal Town in more than a hundred years, what
:09:02. > :09:05.do you think of that? I think it is wonderful. While the disappointment
:09:05. > :09:11.is that I will be on holiday when it happens. Could not ask for
:09:11. > :09:15.anything better for the town. did not ask for it. We do not do
:09:15. > :09:19.what we do for recognition. It is for the people of this country. It
:09:19. > :09:24.is the wish of the people of this country and from further afield.
:09:24. > :09:30.They want us to become Royal Wootton Bassett. We have to
:09:30. > :09:40.graciously accept that honour. Thank you both very much. I know
:09:40. > :09:46.the royal ceremony is in October. Thank you. So, we heard from the
:09:46. > :09:49.people who are soon to be Royal Wootton Bassett. What about the
:09:49. > :09:53.thousands of relatives to come here after losing a loved one over the
:09:53. > :09:56.last four years? One of the repatriations I remember most
:09:56. > :10:00.clearly was just before Remembrance Sunday, 2009, when the bodies of
:10:00. > :10:06.six servicemen returned here along the High Street. Among them was an
:10:06. > :10:11.18-year-old Guardsman from Cleethorpes. His parents now tell
:10:11. > :10:21.their story in their own words. About coming to Wootton Bassett
:10:21. > :10:24.
:10:24. > :10:30.This is James's stuff kept in the bedroom. This is to remember him by.
:10:30. > :10:37.This is his football memorabilia and all his Army stuff. This has
:10:37. > :10:44.been collected over the last 18 months. He was a comedian, liked
:10:44. > :10:49.life. He enjoyed life to the full. He loved his football and his
:10:49. > :10:56.sports and going out drinking with his mates. He lived life like any
:10:56. > :11:05.18-year-old would. He wanted something different and looked into
:11:05. > :11:10.the Army. He did the rest and joined up when he was 17. We had to
:11:10. > :11:14.sign the permission because he was under 18. He would have signed up
:11:14. > :11:24.at 18 anyway, he wanted to do it and we would not stop him. We were
:11:24. > :11:25.
:11:25. > :11:35.very proud to see what he had He trained really well. The British
:11:35. > :11:37.
:11:37. > :11:43.I wait till everyone is asleep and then spend some time in here. It is
:11:43. > :11:49.my way of dealing with it. Everyone is different. This is just a
:11:49. > :11:56.tribute. It is something I'll carry for the rest of my life. My wife
:11:56. > :12:02.gives it a kiss when she falls asleep at night. He was 18 on 3rd
:12:02. > :12:07.November when he was killed. He was with four other soldiers in
:12:07. > :12:10.Afghanistan. They had been in the country three weeks. They were
:12:10. > :12:16.murdered by somebody they were trying to train. There was a knock
:12:16. > :12:20.on the door. I said to my wife, I hate knocks on the door and that
:12:20. > :12:28.time of night. My daughter went to the door first. There was a young
:12:28. > :12:35.chap there. He had a grey suit on and had a poppy in the lapel. I
:12:35. > :12:41.said, was it Jimmy? She said, yes. I asked if Jimmy had been killed
:12:41. > :12:45.and she said, yes. That is when your life falls apart. I walked
:12:45. > :12:55.back into the kitchen and grabbed my wife and told her what had
:12:55. > :12:56.
:12:56. > :13:04.happened, that Jimmy had been I did not believe it, I said to the
:13:04. > :13:11.woman on the night, you are lying. That is how it was. The journey
:13:11. > :13:19.down, I just thought about it. is tunnel vision, you do not see
:13:19. > :13:29.things around you, you just think about that all the time. Heart-
:13:29. > :13:36.
:13:36. > :13:46.wrenching. Wasn't it? Yes. It does not even bear thinking about, does
:13:46. > :14:02.
:14:02. > :14:05.it? To see your son one day come You just get that plummeting in
:14:05. > :14:15.your stomach, thinking you will never see him again and never hold
:14:15. > :14:17.
:14:17. > :14:23.him again and it is very difficult. We never thought one day we would
:14:23. > :14:29.be stood at Wootton Bassett. When you hear the church bells ring,
:14:29. > :14:36.anyone who has been there will tell you, there is a deadly silence.
:14:37. > :14:46.Utter silence, you can hear a pin drop. It is weird because when the
:14:47. > :15:01.
:15:01. > :15:07.That would have meant the world. We put a T-shirt on and a load of
:15:08. > :15:16.flowers. It means a lot to be able to stand there with your family and
:15:16. > :15:19.let the family be there as well. It makes it feel real when they are
:15:19. > :15:24.coming through Wootton Bassett, but when you get back in the car to go
:15:24. > :15:28.out, I went back to the hotel and I saw it on the telly and I broke
:15:28. > :15:38.down because it was not real. It was not hours and I was watching
:15:38. > :15:44.
:15:44. > :15:47.coming through. I do not know, you just blank. It was not our son. But
:15:47. > :15:51.feelings are hurt and dread that you have to go through the rest of
:15:52. > :15:58.your life. You get that tunnel vision, you do not see what is
:15:58. > :16:02.going on around you, you miss a lot of what is going on around you.
:16:02. > :16:12.Just that dread you have to go through the rest of your life with
:16:12. > :16:21.one of your family who has gone. I think it is a good thing what they
:16:21. > :16:25.do there. Everybody travels a long way up to Wootton Bassett. It is an
:16:25. > :16:31.expense by them as well. It is a place where everybody can pay their
:16:31. > :16:37.respects to the soldiers. It is not where people stand to look. They do
:16:37. > :16:42.not do it to be famous, they do it to help. It shows how people
:16:42. > :16:47.support the soldiers and their families. The local shops,
:16:47. > :16:52.everything close, apart from the places that were putting on tea or
:16:52. > :16:56.coffee or refreshments. It puts you a little bit at ease when you come
:16:56. > :17:04.through there and see how many people either supporting the
:17:04. > :17:09.families and the soldiers. respect that was shown, Wootton
:17:09. > :17:13.Bassett will always stick in our minds. It is a place I would never
:17:13. > :17:22.like to go back to for certain reasons, but we will always
:17:22. > :17:25.remember that day for us long as we live. I just do not hope families
:17:25. > :17:32.and parents have to go through what we have been through and what
:17:32. > :17:35.others are going through at the moment. Adrian and teenager
:17:35. > :17:41.remembering their son Jamie, who was killed in Afghanistan just
:17:41. > :17:45.under two years ago. We have moved a couple of miles up the road to
:17:45. > :17:49.the gates of RAF Lyneham and it is because repatriation flights
:17:49. > :17:55.started coming into this space four years ago that Wootton Bassett
:17:55. > :17:59.suddenly found itself part of this whole process. But this was only
:17:59. > :18:04.ever and a temporary measure whilst Brize Norton was undergoing repair
:18:04. > :18:08.work. Now that Brize Norton is up and running again, the flights will
:18:08. > :18:13.return there. But how is the community around that base now
:18:13. > :18:23.planning to show its respects? Robert Hall reports on the legacy
:18:23. > :18:42.
:18:42. > :18:52.A wet day in Boggart, his lieutenant makes his final journey
:18:52. > :18:52.
:18:52. > :18:57.through Wootton Bassett. -- a wet day in August. As the bright
:18:57. > :19:01.flowers are laid it on the rain St KERS, some among the crowd are
:19:01. > :19:09.already planning to do their duty in another town 30 miles to the
:19:09. > :19:12.North East. We were doing it here and my colleagues from Wales have
:19:12. > :19:20.come a long way and have decided to go and I shall follow them and go
:19:20. > :19:25.with them. Until we have been, we will not know how it feels. It will
:19:25. > :19:31.have its own feeling. It will be different, but it will have its own
:19:31. > :19:36.feeling and its own way of showing respect. From the outset, it has
:19:36. > :19:40.been clear that respect has no boundaries. The RAF and the people
:19:40. > :19:47.of Oxfordshire have spent many months preparing to shoulder their
:19:47. > :19:53.new responsibilities. On the outskirts of Brize Norton village
:19:53. > :19:59.families will find a new date to be huge RAF base. Inside, facilities
:19:59. > :20:03.designed to offer them comfort and support. We have got a lounge for
:20:03. > :20:07.the families and we are trying to achieve a quiet and reflective
:20:07. > :20:14.atmosphere. We also have all the facilities we might need to support
:20:14. > :20:18.them through their time here. Linehan's experience help you?
:20:18. > :20:21.very much. We have worked very closely with the staff at Lyneham
:20:21. > :20:26.and we have managed to get everything into one facilities here,
:20:26. > :20:33.and it has been designed specifically for the purpose. For
:20:33. > :20:38.example, we have a chapel in the building. It makes it better for
:20:38. > :20:42.the families. Yes, it makes it much better for the families and it is a
:20:42. > :20:49.smoother process for them, which will enable them to get through the
:20:49. > :20:54.ceremony with full support. From September 1st repatriations will
:20:54. > :20:59.travel through Brize Norton. It will be passed the perimeter of the
:21:00. > :21:05.airfield, around the neighbouring town of Carterton, to the new
:21:05. > :21:09.memorial garden, creating a new focus for national remembrance. It
:21:09. > :21:13.has on occasions produced a bumpy ride. There has been fierce debate
:21:13. > :21:18.in this area about whether the Cortes should pass through a local
:21:18. > :21:22.community and it so, which one? About what sort of site should be
:21:22. > :21:27.built and about whether any side could create Wootton Bassett's
:21:27. > :21:32.special atmosphere. In the end at a cost of �40,000, this is a
:21:32. > :21:36.compromise it is hoped will satisfy everyone's concerns. We can
:21:36. > :21:41.organise it as much as we like, but it is the people who turn up who
:21:41. > :21:46.make it right. I would echo those sentiments exactly. There is no way
:21:46. > :21:52.you can plan, we just have to wait and see on the day. Our main
:21:52. > :21:57.concern is to show respect and sympathy for the families. Jason
:21:57. > :22:02.Mackie lost his life in 2009. His mother, whose return to Wootton
:22:02. > :22:09.Bassett on many occasions since then, is leading efforts to add a
:22:09. > :22:14.bell tower to the new memorial. When that bell starts tolling it
:22:14. > :22:21.gives people time with their thoughts. They know that the Cortes
:22:21. > :22:27.is arriving. I thought, this is something I would really like to do.
:22:27. > :22:32.-- Court tears. As they try to prepare for what the future might
:22:32. > :22:37.bring, every councillor, every police officer, every villager is
:22:37. > :22:42.committed to a ceremony which will offer dignity and access to all.
:22:42. > :22:46.You cannot turn round and cut supping off. We have had 300
:22:46. > :22:50.soldiers plus come back from Afghanistan at the moment where the
:22:50. > :22:54.general public paid their respects. You cannot forget about the rest.
:22:54. > :22:58.These people have given the ultimate sacrifice. If we cannot
:22:58. > :23:03.stand in the rain at the side of the road to pay our respect for
:23:03. > :23:08.those, it would be an issue. will be the dedication of ordinary
:23:08. > :23:12.people that brings the greatest comfort. I have driven back from
:23:12. > :23:16.Wootton Bassett. It does not matter whether it is a lay-by off a
:23:16. > :23:21.pavement outside a police station, if people want to pay their
:23:21. > :23:31.respects, they will make the effort and they will be there because they
:23:31. > :23:32.
:23:32. > :23:36.want to be there. Robert Hall reporting. Here in Wootton Bassett
:23:36. > :23:41.the next few days and weeks will see his services of thanksgiving
:23:41. > :23:48.and of remembrance. But when all that is past, this place can
:23:48. > :23:51.finally return to its quiet normality. Having said that, in
:23:51. > :24:01.Royal Wootton Bassett and the repatriations might have gone, but
:24:01. > :24:27.
:24:27. > :24:33.Good afternoon. Much of the UK is having a dry afternoon. Despite the
:24:33. > :24:37.cloud, the showers are pretty hard to come by. We started the day with
:24:37. > :24:41.decent sunshine, but notice how the cloud has built, leaving the
:24:41. > :24:46.Southern Counties with breaks in the cloud for the rest of the
:24:46. > :24:52.evening. In Northern Ireland there will be some glimmers of sunshine
:24:52. > :24:55.coming through as the afternoon goes on. We have got showers coming
:24:55. > :24:58.through north-west England stretching into the Midlands. We
:24:58. > :25:03.have some in northern Scotland and they will gather in the north-west
:25:03. > :25:08.later to give more general outbreaks of rain. A few brighter
:25:08. > :25:12.breaks the further south you are. In north-west England we keep the
:25:12. > :25:16.cloud and the showers drift into the Midlands. In East Anglia and
:25:16. > :25:22.the south-east, are here to every now and then the sun makes an
:25:22. > :25:26.appearance. The temperatures are gradually dropping a wave. There is
:25:26. > :25:32.decent sunshine in south-west England. It is the sunniest place
:25:32. > :25:37.in the UK as we go into the evening. Brighter breaks in southern and
:25:37. > :25:42.eastern counties of Wales. For Northern Ireland it is largely dry.
:25:42. > :25:47.You might get to see the sun from time to time. As for the Notting
:25:47. > :25:54.Hill Carnival, it is going to be dry and the temperature is around
:25:54. > :25:58.18 or 19 before gradually trailing offer this evening. The trailing
:25:58. > :26:03.off in temperature overnight will accelerate. By the end of the night
:26:03. > :26:08.in the countryside it will be quite chilly, down to five or six degrees.
:26:08. > :26:16.In Scotland we keep a lot of cloud and the rain will be more
:26:17. > :26:22.widespread later on in the night. Elsewhere, sunshine, summed cloud
:26:22. > :26:29.building, but despite that most of us will stay dry. Those
:26:29. > :26:33.temperatures are still stubbornly rooted in the teens, but a degree
:26:33. > :26:38.or so higher compared to today. The quiet weather continues on
:26:38. > :26:42.Wednesday and Thursday. But there will still be a good deal of cloud