Borough remembers Sapper Richard ‘Joe’ Royle and Fusilier Conrad Cole from the Gulf War

Fusilier Conrad Cole

Sapper Richard ‘Joe’ Royle and Fusilier Conrad Cole, two soldiers from Rochdale who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Gulf War, will be remembered during a remembrance service to be held at Rochdale Cenotaph exactly 25 years after the bloodiest day of the war.

Fusilier Conrad Cole was the youngest British soldier to die in the Gulf War on 26 February 1991, aged just 17.

His mother Susan Cole said he decided at an early age that he wanted to join the Army: “Conrad was young and it was his choice to go to war, but he wanted to be part of something and thrived in the military. He definitely wasn’t ready to sit back and watch his friends get a sun tan without him or just watch them on television, he wanted to be part of it.

"We will always remember him as a happy-go-lucky lad who had a smile on his face and made others smile with him. The light he brought into people’s lives and the laughter that filled the world around him will always be with us.”

Susan and her family are in talks with Rochdale Borough Council for a street to be named after Conrad, with Kirkolt, where he grew up, the preferred location.

Reflecting on a photograph of him that takes pride of place in the living room at home, she added: “If he was here today I know Conrad would be very proud and so excited to tell me a street was being named after him, he would like that.”

Almost 54,000 British troops were deployed and faced danger and uncertainty in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait and 47 made the ultimate sacrifice.

The remembrance service will be held on Friday 26 February at 5pm by Rochdale Cenotaph.