In Remembrance: Private James (Jamie) Kerr — The Black Watch / 2 Royal Welsh, Basra, 28 June 2007
Private James “Jamie” Kerr, The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was killed in Basra on 28 June 2007. He was 20 and from Cowdenbeath.
Volunteering to reinforce 2 Royal Welsh
Jamie joined The Black Watch in 2005 and had been serving in Northern Ireland before volunteering to reinforce 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh for Operation TELIC 10. He joined B (Rorke’s Drift) Company and trained with the company before deploying to Iraq.
In Basra he served as a dismounted soldier carried in the back of the platoon commander’s Warrior. The official record notes that he had already taken part in strike operations, convoy protection and base defence, and had shown professionalism under fire. His commanders considered him to have clear potential for promotion.
28 June 2007
In the early hours of 28 June, B Company was clearing and protecting the route for a sustainment convoy moving from Basra Palace. Jamie’s Warrior stopped and soldiers in the rear dismounted to check that the area was safe.
An improvised explosive device detonated at about 01:00 local time in south-east Basra. Jamie was killed alongside Corporal Paul Joszko of 2 Royal Welsh and fellow Black Watch soldier Private Scott Kennedy. A fourth British soldier was very seriously injured.
Remembering Jamie
The official tributes consistently describe a popular, enthusiastic young soldier whose humour lifted the people around him but who understood when the job required complete professionalism. He was dependable, worked hard and had become an established part of a company that was not originally his own.
For me, his story is another reminder that the battlegroup mattered more on the ground than the neat unit labels people see afterwards. He remained a Black Watch soldier while serving and fighting inside 2 Royal Welsh. I was serving in Basra on TELIC 10, but I will not turn that shared campaign into a personal memory of Jamie that I have not supplied.
Also remembered from 28 June 2007
Return to Log 047 — Operation TELIC campaign guide →
Official remembrance record
Image note: The official MOD remembrance page contains Jamie’s portrait, but the photograph is marked “All rights reserved”, so I have not reproduced it here without permission.
