PAUL LOWEPrivate Paul Lowe, killed at the age of 19 on 4 November, 2004, was a British soldier serving in Iraq with the 1st Battalion, The Black Watch.He was one of three soldiers from the same regiment who fell victim to a suicide car bomb attack in Falluja, while manning a vehicle checkpoint.The attack was shortly followed by what has been described as "sustained mortar fire" that left a further eight personnel wounded.Deployed with his Battalion to Kuwait in 2003, Private Lowe was a popular and talented young soldier whose untimely death after just three years in the Army left his mother "shocked and saddened."PrivatePau l Aitkin Lowe was born in Fife, Scotland, in 1985. A very able and talented drummer at his Kelty school, he first dreamt of joining The Black Watch at just seven and, as a teen, spent a year training at the Army Apprentice College in Yorkshire.His subsequent training at Catterick eventually saw him take up a post in Germany, where he joined The Black Watch in November, 2002.In the spring of 2003, the Battalion was deployed to Kuwait. There, Private Lowe played a pivotal role in the ensuing period of heavy combat operations, and earned himself a reputation for his unswerving dedication and loyalty."He was a popular and lively young man at home," a statement from the MoD read, "[as well as] in the Battalion."Later that year he returned to Germany with the 850-strong force, before spending some time at Warminster and gaining an instructor qualification in his drumming.By July, 2004, however, he and his Battalion were once again at the forefront of operations in Iraq, determined to make a difference to the war-torn country.It was while manning a vehicle checkpoint on 4 November, 2004, that Private Lowe and two other soldiers -Sergeant Stuart Gray and Private Scott McArdle -fell victim to a suicide bomber who drove his car at them and detonated a device.All three were killed instantly, while a further eight personnel were injured.An unnamed Iraqi interpreter, who had been due to get married that same day, was also killed in the attack.Speaking from Camp Dogwood, Regiment Commander Lieutenant Colonel James Cowan said the deaths of all the men were a painful blow and that they would be missed as "brothers in arms."The deaths signalled the first British losses to suicide attacks.Craig Lowe had also been serving with The Black Watch but, at the time of his brother's death, was back home in Scotland attending a training course."It is a sad time for us all," he said on hearing the tragic news, "and at this time words cannot express the depth of grief that my mother Helen, brothers Stuart, Shaun, Jordan and myself feel."
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