Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2004, Corporal Marc Taylor, Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, and Gunner David Lawrence, 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, were killed in Iraq in the ambush of a military convoy south-west of Basrah. They had been escorting a visit to a new housing project and were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades. Corporal Taylor had previously served in Germany, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland. This was his third tour of Iraq, and he was due to go home within two weeks; it would have been his 28th birthday the following day. He is remembered as a calm, confident leader who easily gained the respect of all who had the privilege of knowing him; and as a first-class team commander. Marc, from Ellesmore Port, was 27 years old, married with a two-year-old daughter and a baby on the way. Gunner Lawrence had previously served in Bosnia, and helped provide emergency cover under Operation Fresco during the industrial action by firefighters in 2002-3.. He was killed trying to help those whose vehicle had been hit by a grenade. He has been described as a good loyal friend, “a cheerful soldier who always had a cheeky grin on his face,” and very popular with all who knew him. David, from Walsall, was 25 years old.