Tears as Soldier Lance Corporal Christopher Roney buried

Jan 29 2010 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

SILENCE descended on the funeral of fallen hero Christopher Roney as hundreds of mourners paid their last respects to the brave Wearside soldier.

The 23-year-old’s coffin was carried into Holy Trinity Church, in Southwick, yesterday morning to the hush of grieving family and friends.

Nearby a poignant message written on behalf of Lance Corporal Roney’s five-month-old son, William, simply read: “Dear daddy, love you and missing you lots: Baby William.”

His devastated widow Lorna, 21, looked on as her husband was laid to rest in the church where she had said her wedding vows two years before.

Just hours earlier, she was presented with the Elizabeth Cross from the Lord Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear, Nigel Sherlock – a fitting tribute to a man who had given his life in combat.

L/Cpl Roney died on December 22, a day after being injured in a suspected friendly fire incident in Sangin, Northern Helmand, Afghanistan.

The soldier, a member of A Company, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles, was buried six days before his 24th birthday.

Paying tribute at the service, his brother, Will, 30, said: “He was someone I was proud to call brother. I could not have asked for anything more. He had a good heart and an amazing personality and he was loved by all. He was one in a million.”