Gordon Gentle
Encyclopedia
Fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...

 Gordon Gentle (born & originally known as Gordon MacCrae) was a 19 year old soldier from Pollok
Pollok
Pollok is a large district on the south-western side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It was built to house families from the overcrowded inner city...

, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, who died in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 on 28 June 2004, after completing his 26-week basic training course at the Infantry Training Centre
Infantry Training Centre
The Infantry Training Centre is a unit of the British Army administered by HQ School of Infantry responsible for both basic and advanced training of Soldiers and Officers joining the infantry...

 in Catterick
Catterick Garrison
Catterick Garrison is a major Army base located in Northern England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world with a population of around 12,000, plus a large temporary population of soldiers, and is larger than its older neighbour...

. He was serving with the 1st Battalion Royal Highland Fusiliers
Royal Highland Fusiliers
The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....

. Gordon's lightly armoured Snatch Land Rover
Snatch Land Rover
The Snatch Land Rover is a protected patrol vehicle, based around the Land Rover Defender 110 chassis, intended for general patrolling in low-threat areas and is the successor to the Truck Utility Medium with Vehicle Protection Kit...

 was destroyed by a roadside bomb. His mother Rose Gentle
Rose Gentle
Rose Gentle is the mother of Gordon Gentle, a 19 year old from Pollok who was killed while serving in Iraq. Some claimed that this was through the failure of the UK government to provide adequate equipment to their armed forces. Since his death she has campaigned against the Iraq War and set up...

 has since campaigned for better protected vehicles for UK forces and the return of British troops from Iraq. With Reg Keys
Reg Keys
Reginald Thomas Keys, better known as Reg Keys , is the father of a British serviceman killed in the Iraq War. He stood in the 2005 General Election as an anti-war independent candidate for MP of Sedgefield, a constituency held by the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair.- Biography :Keys is a founder...

 she is a founder member of Military Families Against the War
Military Families Against the War
Military Families Against the War is an organisation of families of servicemen in the United Kingdom created to campaign for British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq.The group's mission statement sets out their objectives as follows:...

.

An inquest in to his death commenced in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 on 29 October 2007. The Inquest recently (7 November) concluded that his death was 'unlawful' as an Electronic countermeasures
Electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...

 device designed to protect against improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...

s was due to be fitted to the Royal Highland Fusiliers' Land Rovers hours before his death, and the device was only not fitted sooner due to a breakdown in communications and Logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...

.
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