Hero's farewell (From Barry And District News)

Hero's farewell

HUNDREDS of mourners yesterday said a final farewell to the ex-SAS soldier from Barry killed in Iraq last month.

Family members and friends from around the UK attended a service at Crossway Methodist Church to celebrate the life of Julian Davies.

In a reading, Julian's uncle Roy Watson said: "As a family today we say farewell to Julian who captivated us all with his energy, his love of life and his humility in the brave and courageous life that he lived.

"Perhaps it was not surprising that Julian joined a national security organisation providing humanitarian aid and assisting in reconstruction projects.

"One consolidation we have is that Julian was doing what he loved to do. Where there was danger and action, that was where Julian loved to be.

"By saying that you might imagine that Julian was a hard man. On the contrary, in reality he was a gentle character, never one to lose his temper. In the family circle we never heard him swear."

During the service the Bryan Adam's track Everything I do (I do it for you) was played.

Julian Davies, 39, was born and raised in Barry and educated at Barry Boys Comprehensive.

He was happily married to Joanne, who he met while they were serving in the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland.

They married in Halifax in 1993 and have a son Matthew aged six.

Julian Davies was the son of John Davies and Jean Pickering and stepson of Christopher Pickering and the late Hazel Davies.

Julian was known for his "legendary" passion for motorbikes and for his love of Cardiff City Football Club.

Julian gained his green beret with the Royal Marine Reservists at HMS Cambria while serving a four-year apprenticeship as a patternmaker. He joined the regular army in 1986. He did active service in Northern Ireland and Belize.

He left the forces in 1991 to return to patternmaking. He then joined 21 SAS reservists based at Newport.

In 2003 Julian joined an international risk management and security company working in Afghanistan and later in Iraq.