Tributes to Scots gunner six years after he vanished
THE RAF paid tribute to Scots gunner Corrie McKeague as family and friends attended a memorial service held for him at his former base yesterday.
Mr McKeague, an airman, from Dunfermline, Fife, was 23 when he vanished in the early hours of September 24, 2016, on a night out in
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
He was last seen on town centre CCTV footage entering a cul-de-sac which contained a number of wheelie bins.
His mobile phone was later tracked by masts along a route between Bury St Edmunds and a landfill site near Barton Mills but he was never seen again.
Mr McKeague’s disappearance sparked a £2.1 million search operation. Earlier this year, an inquest recorded in a narrative conclusion that Mr McKeague got into a bin that was then emptied into a waste lorry. His mother, Nicola Urquhart, greeted mourners outside the church at RAF Honington, where he was stationed, as the City of Norwich Pipe Band played ahead of the service yesterday. Mr McKeague’s brother Daroch McKeague and sister-inlaw Cloe McKeague were among those to attend at the ceremony, which took place at around 11am. Attendees were pictured wearing yellow, blue and green after the family encouraged mourners to wear bright colours to the service. Station Commander Group Captain Dutch Holland said in a statement: “I am privileged to have the memorial service for SAC Corrie McKeague today here at RAF Honington where he spent his RAF Regiment career.
“This memorial service is an act of worship led by a RAF Padre and we ask that the family’s privacy is respected before, during and after this service as they remember the loss of a son, father and brother.
“Our thoughts continue to be with SAC McKeague’s family, friends and colleagues and all those whose lives he touched.”
In June 2017, Mr McKeague’s girlfriend, April Oliver, 21, announced the birth of his baby girl, Ellie-Louise, who was given the middle name, Corrie.
Mr McKeague died at about 4.20am in Bury St Edmunds as a result of “compression asphyxia in association with multiple injuries”, jurors at the inquest recorded.
They also said Mr McKeague’s “death was contributed to by impaired judgment due to alcohol consumption”.
During the inquest, it was heard Mr McKeague had slept in a bin before.
Writing on the Find Corrie Facebook page in July, Ms Urquhart said that she had “struggled to come to terms” with the findings, but “as a family we are ready to have a memorial for Corrie”.
“The Royal Air Force are holding a military memorial for Corrie for us,” she said.
“I will never be able to thank the RAF for all they have done and tried to do for us, for all they did for Corrie.”