Family Tribute To Star Yorkshire Soldier
5 October 2012, 18:12 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50
Hundreds of people gathered at a Yorkshire Church today to say their goodbyes to a Yorkshire soldier, who was gunned down by a rogue Afghan policeman last month.
18 year old Private Thomas Wroe, of 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's) was shot in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, when he went to help the man, who pretended to be injured.
Hundreds of people lined the streets and packed into St Bartholomew's Church in Meltham, West Yorkshire, for the young soldier's funeral.
Demi Wroe, Pte Wroe's 14-year-old sister, read a moving eulogy to him. She said: “You are my brother, my inspiration, my hero, my role model, my life.”
Demi described her brother using the words `”thoughtful, hero, outstanding, military, amusing and star'' to spell out his name. “You are the brightest star in the sky,'' she said. “Once a hero, always a hero. Always remembered, never forgotten.”
Mick Wroe, Pte Wroe's father, led a round of applause in honour of the bravery of all the soldiers who have paid the “ultimate sacrifice”.
He said: “You've done your duty son and done it right to the last,'' he said. “Tom, we will always love you, always miss you but we will never, ever, ever forget you.''
Pte Wroe, from Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, was killed alongside Sergeant Gareth Thursby, 29, in the so-called ``green-on-blue'' attack. He was deployed to Afghanistan on July 1, shortly after his 18th birthday, and died in Nahr-e Saraj district on September 15.
