Moving story of mothers united in grief after their sons were killed in Afghanistan

CHILDHOOD BEST friends from Warrington who were killed within weeks of each other in Afghanistan feature in a new book honouring the lives and sacrifice of those who fought in the conflict.
The families of Private Tom Sephton and Marine Steven Birdsall have shared previously unpublished photographs and letters the young men sent home from the battlefields for the book “At The Going Down Of The Sun: Love, Loss and Sacrifice in Afghanistan”.
Author Graham Bound interviewed more than a hundred relatives, friends and comrades of 20 fallen British soldiers and Marines for the book. A chapter is dedicated to each of them.
Interviewees have given insights into what the war heroes were like growing up, their lives on the front line, the dramatic moments leading up to their deaths and, in many cases, previously unseen last letters, photographs and emails from their loved one.
Tom, a keen rugby league player, and Steven met at Great Sankey High School. They were in the same class and became firm friends.
They grew up together, met girls together, joined the armed forces at the same time and ultimately died in the same tour of Afghanistan.
Marine Birdsall, of 40 Commando Royal Marines, was the first to die. He was just 20-years-old when he was shot by a Taliban sniper in Sangin, in June 2010. He died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
The two mothers barely knew each other before their sons died.
Tom’s mother, Angela said: “Jenny and I didn’t know each other very well before. Usually we were busy, so we’d just say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ or something like that when one or the other of us was picking up the boys or dropping them off. But after our two boys were killed, the relationship between Jenny and me became very strong, and very important.
“No-one else could understand what we had been through, and we bonded very strongly. We still have a great friendship, and we support each other. We meet up quite often, and have lunch and a glass of wine or two. We talk about the boys, and we watch videos and DVDs of them together. That’s our own form of counselling. We always contact each other on anniversaries and birthdays, but we don’t even need to ask each other how we are feeling, because we know. We go to the cemetery together, too. The boys are buried near to each other here in Warrington. It’s a nice, peaceful place.”
Steven’s parents Jenny and Steve also treasure the letters their son sent home.
Although their lives were ripped apart by Steven’s death, they take some solace in the fact that his organs have saved five lives.
Jenny said, “Somebody received his heart, and we know that lad was later able to enjoy the first holiday he’d had in three years. And two people benefited from his kidneys. One didn’t survive, but the other did. Another patient received a double lung transplant. That man had been given only hours to live, but he recovered enough to be able to play football with his son.”
Steve said: “Football was Steven’s sport, so to know that part of him is still sometimes running around on a football pitch is wonderful. The transplant team still give us updates on the health of those who received Steven’s organs, and Jenny finds that very comforting.”
“At The Going Down Of The Sun” is published by Monday Books and is available in bookshops and online retailers priced £18.99.