Bombs and rockets - life on the front line for Bognor soldier

Wesley Meredith walked into the arms of his mother after eight weeks of putting his life on the line every day in the Middle East country.

Tracey Appleby (44), of Pevensey Road, said: "It was brilliant seeing Wesley again. Words can't describe how I felt.

"I was absolutely ecstatic and burst into tears. I couldn't speak for a minute or two."

The silence was broken when the champagne came out and Wesley was able to celebrate his return with a range of relatives including Tracey's husband, Andy Appleby (62), and his aunt and uncle.

Wesley (25) said: "I am happy to be home. I'm lucky '“ I was out in Iraq for only two months and didn't have to serve the full six months out there."

Tracey said: "I tried not to listen to the news or watch it on TV while Wesley was in Iraq. I figured the Army would tell me if anything happened to him."

Wesley was based in the British camp near Basra Airport. He was among 4,100 British troops stationed there.

As a Lance Corporal in the 21 Engineer Regiment of the Royal Engineers, he was second in command of an eight-man section trying to deter attackers from launching rockets into the British base.

An agreement with the Iraqi government means the British forces do not enter central Basra because the southern city's security is in the hands of Iraqi forces.

The British troops patrol the city's outskirts. Those are the areas from which regular rocket attacks target the British forces.

Wesley said: "We were dropped into a spot by Merlin helicopter and had to check around for any suspicious people and sort out the situation.

"It's a very dangerous position to be in. It's the real deal out there.

"There's a lot of unexploded bombs lying around and anything could have happened."

Life was scarcely safer back in the camp. Rockets are fired into the base nearly every night.

"Indirect fire is the main threat to the soldiers," he said. "The rockets are coming in every single evening.

"You are a sitting duck. You hear the alarm go off and you have to go to ground and wait until you hear the bang.

"People are dying or being severely injured as a result of those explosions."

The temperature added to the nervousness of the troops. The thermometer was nudging 42C/ 107F when Wesley left at the end of March.

He was recalled from Iraq to begin a new phase of his Army career at a base near Cambridge.

His next role is to travel to Africa to repair runways as a plant engineer.

Wesley signed up for the Army after deciding life in the sixth form at Bognor Regis Community College wasn't for him.

He had gone to the college from Michael Ayres Junior School, having grown up in Bognor.

"I got bored with just sitting there learning and learning and learning," he said.

He attended an Army recruitment session in January 2003 at Pirbright Barracks in Surrey, easily passed the assessment and got a taste for life in the armed forces.

He signed up for the Army two months later and completed health and fitness and an NVQ leisure course at Chichester College before he enrolled as a full-time soldier.

He has since travelled the world. Three of those years have been spent based in Germany. He also served tours of Kenya, Canada, Poland and Cyprus.

He said: "I've certainly seen the world but I'm looking to settle down a bit now."

Wesley became engaged to Sophie Johnston (34) last September and they have set up home together in central Bognor while he has been on leave.