Thread: Death of Rupert Hamer Daily Mirror journalist in Afghanistan

BBC just reported that Daily Mirror Defence Jounalist has been killed by an IED, whilst embedded with USMC in Afghanistan.

edited to add link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8450603.stm

The Sunday Mirror's defence correspondent has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

Rupert Hamer was one of two Mirror journalists embedded with the United States Marine Corps.

They were accompanying a patrol to the north-west of Nawa when their vehicle hit an improvised bomb.

Mr Hamer's Mirror colleague, photographer Philip Coburn, is in a serious but stable condition.

A US Marine and an Afghan soldier were also killed in the blast, and four US Marines were seriously injured.

British journalist Rupert Hamer, the Sunday Mirror's defence correspondent, has been killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence has said.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-...n_In_Explosion

Phil, the photographer, is reported to have lost a leg and has spinal injuries. I worked with Rupert Hamer a couple of times and he was a nice enough bloke if a little clueless about military matters and terminology despite having been the defence correspondent for the S.Mirror for at least a decade.

well said sir

This is a serious question, please do not use as a reason to beat up on either me or journos.
Will the injured photographer go to Headley court for rehab?
It would seem to me to be a good idea. He will receive the best care and be surrounded by people in the same boat.
Or will he go through the NHS/Private route.

Originally Posted by old_n_fat

This is a serious question, please do not use as a reason to beat up on either me or journos.
Will the injured photographer go to Headley court for rehab?
It would seem to me to be a good idea. He will receive the best care and be surrounded by people in the same boat.
Or will he go through the NHS/Private route.

He won't go to Headley Court as that is a Defence Establishment. Staff media workers are insured by their organisations when they go out to areas of conflict, which does include medical treatment. Whether this will cover private rehabilitation therapy though, I can't say.

RP578, thanks for the quick reply. Seems a bit of a shame really, he would probably do better at Headley court The staff are massively experienced and the other patients would be a source of mental strength for him.

Correct he is not a squaddie. He has however received injuries that very few people other than squaddies receive. So the staff at Headley are likely the best to treat such injuries. As I have already said being surrounded by the military patients who are in the same boat would provide great mental support to him.
It's an opinion, not an argument.

By how much would you like the current military capability of Headley Court reduced to provide beds for civilians?

After all, if it is to accommodate British journalists, you will similarly be including British aid workers, civil servants , UN staff etc - all of whom could also recover much better at HC, but for whom (like this poor chap) other med plans are currently in place?

I was deeply saddened to learn today of the un-timely death of Rupert Hamer, Sunday Mirror Defence Correspondent.

This is the second time in less than six months I have come face to face with the harsh realities of this conflict, as someone I have known personally is killed.

The relationship between the media and military can sometimes be a poisoned chalice; but on the few occasions that I spoke with Rupert Hamer, we were always focused on the best interests of those serving.

The last time we chatted was to set up the Christmas messages thread on this forum, so that we could stimulate demand so the Sunday Mirror could send a morale lifter for the troops in theatre over the Christmas period. We were due to meet when he returned from this trip to Afghanistan, and the fact that we won't echoes and reverberates through me as the memory of his voice drifts into the emptiness.

Not only has the Sunday Mirror lost a fine journalist, but so too has the military. He was on the right side.

My thoughts and condolences go to his wife and children.

Obviously, my thoughts are also with the families of the injured and that of the families of the US marine that was also killed.

RIP Rupert,

thoughts and condolences go to his wife and children

Hope Phil the photographer makes a swift recovery

Originally Posted by RP578

I worked with Rupert Hamer a couple of times and he was a nice enough bloke if a little clueless about military matters and terminology despite having been the defence correspondent for the S.Mirror for at least a decade.

Surely, that is better than pretending to be in the military and speaking a bit the jargon, or even worse using jargon in the wrong context. In my experience speaking like you are in the club when you aren't just gets people's heckles up.

Roger, wilco, over and out. (Did you see what I did there?)

Originally Posted by PR_Totty

Originally Posted by RP578

I worked with Rupert Hamer a couple of times and he was a nice enough bloke if a little clueless about military matters and terminology despite having been the defence correspondent for the S.Mirror for at least a decade.

Surely, that is better than pretending to be in the military and speaking a bit the jargon, or even worse using jargon in the wrong context. In my experience speaking like you are in the club when you aren't just gets people's heckles up.

Roger, wilco, over and out. (Did you see what I did there?)

Hmmm, perhaps. I don't want too make to much out of it, not only because he's dead, but also because he was a genuinely decent and keen bloke. It's just that for someone who'd been a defence correspondent for a few years by then, you'd have expected him to know that 'Bombadier' was a rank title in the Army, for example.

Like I said, he was a genuinely nice guy and he was always pro-Tom in his outlook and articles.