Irwin Mitchell | Focus on Military | Memorial for a world-class paratrooper

Serving in the Armed Forces can be a dangerous job, and when fatalities happen on the battlefield it can be hard for friends and family at home to get the answers and closure they need.

Anyone who’s lost someone in this way will know it’s important to have a place to remember them, be it in a public memorial garden or a private place at home. That’s exactly how John Downes felt when fellow serviceman Private Jeff Doherty was killed on the front line in Afghanistan.

Jeff, known as JJ to all who knew him, had celebrated his 20th birthday just days earlier when he was fighting in the Helmand Province in 2008 and his troop were ambushed by the Taliban. His loss was hard to come to terms with for his friends and family back home and so they planted a tree at the Airborne Forces Memorial in Coventry in his memory.

However it was set back from the main memorial and kept getting waterlogged. That’s why our client John Downes decided to give JJ the respect he deserves. John organised for a plaque dedicated to Private Doherty to sit prominently at the front of the memorial ground and a socially distanced ceremony was held on 3 April 2021. In attendance was JJ’s family, including his brother, Fin, who has followed in his footsteps to join the Parachute Regiment.

JJ’s family can now remember him in a dignified way, suitable for the ultimate sacrifice he made for us all. The memorial reads “To the world he was a paratrooper, to us he was the world.”

A dedicated comrade

John ‘Lonnie’ Downes, a former 16 paratrooper and welfare officer for the Coventry Airborne Association, said “When we realised the memorial tree was not enough for JJ we tried to get it moved, but it was very complicated. With the permission of his family, we now have JJ front and centre of the memorial so everyone can pay their respects. It’s what JJ deserved.”

Lonnie has been part of many Armed Forces memorials during his life and his role as welfare officer has positively impacted the lives of many. His welfare work has seen him visit many seriously injured soldiers in hospital following their return from the front line. He was also personally invited to meet Prince William in Coventry War Memorial Park as part of the Fields in Trust centenary fields programme.

Hayley Hill, one of our specialists in asbestos-related disease, is currently acting for Lonnie in an action against one of his former employers. Lonnie, who was negligently exposed to asbestos during his working life, is now sadly suffering from mesothelioma; a cancer of the lining of the lung commonly associated with exposure to asbestos.

Despite his recent diagnosis of mesothelioma, and the difficulties this illness imposes on his everyday life, Lonnie’s dedication to the Armed Forces and his fellow soldiers remains potent. His selfless act of dedicating JJ’s plaque has now enabled JJ’s family and friends to celebrate and honour his memory alongside Coventry’s Armed Forces heroes.

We represent many clients who have been negligently exposed to asbestos during their working life, including ex-services personnel, and we’re dedicated to ensuring justice is achieved for our clients and their families. We’re proud to be acting for Lonnie in his asbestos-related disease claim and hope to secure the justice he deserves.

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Memorial For A World-Class Paratrooper

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Memorial For A World-Class Paratrooper

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