In Remembrance: Corporal Paul Joszko — 2 Royal Welsh, Basra, 28 June 2007
Corporal Paul Joszko, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, was killed in Basra on 28 June 2007. He was 28 and from Mountain Ash, Wales.
Service on TELIC 10
Paul served with B (Rorke’s Drift) Company, 2 Royal Welsh. On TELIC 10 the company was operating in a difficult period of the Basra campaign, protecting movement, patrolling the city and supporting wider British operations as attacks by insurgent and militia groups intensified.
The Ministry of Defence tribute records Paul as an experienced and highly regarded junior commander. He had completed the Section Commanders Battle Course, had recently worked training recruits at Catterick and was considered a strong candidate for further promotion. His officers remembered a capable field soldier whose relaxed appearance and humour sat alongside dependable professional standards.
28 June 2007
In the early hours of 28 June, B Company was helping protect an essential sustainment convoy moving from Basra Palace toward the main British base. Paul and soldiers with him dismounted from a Warrior patrol while the route ahead of the convoy was being checked.
At about 01:00 local time, an improvised explosive device detonated in the Al Amtahiya area of south-east Basra. Paul was killed alongside Private Scott Kennedy and Private James (Jamie) Kerr, both of The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, who had volunteered to reinforce 2 Royal Welsh for the tour. A fourth British soldier was very seriously injured.
Remembering Paul
The official tributes describe a corporal who led from the front, was respected by his men and had the confidence of his chain of command. He was remembered for warmth, humour and a strong ability in the field, as well as for the responsibility he carried for the soldiers around him.
I was serving in Basra on TELIC 10, so losses like this belong to the same campaign I remember from the ground. I am not going to turn that into a personal memory of Paul that I have not given. What matters here is that he does not become just another name and date in a casualty table.
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 Paul’s portrait, but the photograph is marked “All rights reserved”, so I have not reproduced it here without permission.
