Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth
Killed in attack on British vehicles in southern Iraq on March 23, 2003
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Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 36, was an extremely experienced soldier and had been in line for promotion. He had done tours of duty as a bomb disposal officer in Bosnia and Afghanistan. Iraq was his third tour. His dedication to duty and professionalism had won him the respect of all those who served with him. He left a wife, and two sons aged nine and three.Sapper Luke Allsopp, 24, of North London died alongside Simon. He was capable, popular and a valued team member who had served in Cyprus and Kenya. Both were members of 33 (EOD) Engineer Regiment based at Carver Barracks, Wimbish, Essex Adapted from an atticle in the Times On Line, published 29 March 2003 |
The members of the Cullingworth One Name Study Group offer
their deepest
sympathy to the families and friends of Simon Cullingworth and his colleague Luke
Allsopp
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The following was published in the Cambridge News on 28 July
2003: HUNDREDS of people turned out for an emotional football match on Saturday. A team of Royal Engineers took on Braintree Town for the Cullingworth Memorial Trophy, in memory of Braintree fan Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, a soldier who was killed in the Iraq war. Ssgt Cullingworth, 36, an explosives expert from 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD) based at Carver Barracks, Wimbish, was killed along with colleague Sapper Luke Allsopp, 25, in the early days of the conflict. Ssgt Cullingworth's eldest son Matthew, eight, led the teams on to the pitch and kicked off the game at Braintree's Cressing Road stadium, watched by his brother Jack, three, and mother Alison, Ssgt Cullingworth's widow. Katie Suckling, Sapper Allsopp's partner, was also present. More than £1,000 was raised at the turnstiles as more than 350 people attended the fixture, while a further £1,000 was raised on the raffle, with all proceeds going to the Army Benevolent Fund. Mrs Cullingworth said it was a "wonderful day"."It's amazing the amount of people that have turned up to show support," she said."People have travelled from hundreds of miles away to come here. It's very overwhelming." She said her husband was a keen Braintree fan who would watch whenever he could."He would be overjoyed at the amount of support." Miss Suckling, 22, said: "It's a nice way of remembering them both."Prior to the game both teams were presented to Colonel Tony Troulan, commanding officer of 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD)."Simon was involved with football in the regiment so this is nice," he said. The Royal Engineers won the inaugural cup 5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.After the match Mrs Cullingworth and Miss Suckling were presented with flowers by the football club, while Matthew was presented with a season ticket. George Rosling, chairman of Braintree Town, said: "The idea is to make it a regular game. Hopefully the other days will be as good as this one |