Connections with Brighton and Hove : Jamie Janes was a soldier who died in service when he was only 20 years old, just a few weeks after arriving in Afghanistan. Colleagues tried to save him when he was blown up by the Taliban but his injuries were too severe. His mother Jacqui later hit the headlines in admonishing Prime Minister Gordon Brown for getting some details wrong in a personal letter of condolence he sent her. Janes was blown up in a heavily-mined area of Helmand Province on October 5, 2009. He was leading a foot patrol, sweeping for improvised explosive devices with a hand-held detector. He had paused to pull a comrade up a muddy bank when the explosion went off, wounding three of his colleagues and leaving him with fatal injuries. Other members of the unit applied tourniquets to stem his bleeding at the scene then carried him out to a waiting vehicle on a stretcher while under ferocious fire from a hail of rockets, bullets and other missiles. After the explosion, enemy forces attacked their position plus three local checkpoints and their base in a well-co-ordinated movement. At an inquest in Brighton, Coroner Veronica Hamilton-Deeley recorded a verdict that Janes was unlawfully killed whilst in active service. She praised his heroism and that of the men who tried to save him. Janes, who came from Portslade, is still recalled fondly by his comrades. His commanding officer Lt Col Roly Walker of the Grenadiers, said: “Jamie was an experienced young soldier. He willingly took risks to make others safer and paid the ultimate price with his life.”
933 Mercedes Streetdeck - carried name since delivery in April 2015 on Coaster Route 12. Coaster branding removed in March 2024.