Ref. 29459-11 Jeffrey Phillips with his mum VeronicaTHE brother of SAS man Vince Phillips died 'depressed and broken hearted' despite having helped cleared his brother's name of claims of cowardice, says his mother.

Jeff Phillips, 47, of Freshbrook, died on September 25 having fought and won a battle to clear the name of his brother Vince one of the SAS soldiers who died on the failed Bravo Two Zero mission during the first Gulf War in 1991, aged 36.

Speaking to the Evening Advertiser Mr Phillip's mother, Veronica, 73, of Old Town, and Jeff's partner Irene Coombe said the family had been devastated by his death.

Mrs Phillips said: "We are all devastated, and I feel like I am in a daze, in another world.

"He was a wonderful son, and would help anybody, but the loss of Vincent and then my husband Jim four years affected him badly."

Ms Coombe explained: "I was the one, who found him, but we have no idea what happened, he was always fit and healthy but it looks like he just died in his sleep.

"He was happy and hard-working man, he loved his family and adored his two daughters Hanna and Becky, and would help anyone.

"He was determined to clear Vince's name he was always so proud of his brother."

Mr Phillips suffered from bouts of depression and even lost his job at a Swindon drugs firm.

However, things were looking up, and he was due to start a new job at a local DIY store.

He led the family in the battle to correct what he called errors and myths in books such as Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero and The One That Got Away by Chris Ryan as well as television films of the books.

They claimed that Sgt Phillips one of the most experienced members of eight-man patrol was a coward and responsible for compromising the mission.

But a recent book by another member of the team, Mike Coburn called Soldier Five aimed to vindicate Sgt Phillips.

When the book was finally released following legal wranglings with the Ministry of Defence the Phillips family said their wait for the truth had finally come to an end.

"Jeff was delighted when Mike Coburn's book came out, and we all got to meet him and Jeff spent hours asking him questions, but after he left, Jeff still felt that there were unanswered questions.

"But he was still unhappy, it was almost as if he had been fighting for so long, and won and had nothing else to live for."

Mrs Phillips said: "It has been hard to lose two sons.

"But it makes me more determined to keep hold of my daughter and son, Susan and Steven.

"I just want to keep them by my side all the time so nothing can happen to them."

Several hundred people attended Mr Phillip's funeral at Swindon's Crematorium last Friday.

The Phillips family want to thank everyone who has helped support them in the over the past month.

A fateful mission

JEFF Phillips fought for almost 15 years to sort out what he called errors and inconsistencies in books related to the Bravo Two Zero mission.

Bravo Two Zero was the call sign of an eight-man SAS team dispatched to the Iraqi desert during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Their aim was to locate and destroy Iraqi Scud Ballistic Missile launchers, which were aimed at Israel and Saudi Arabia and proving difficult to find from the air.

Unfortunately the mission was plagued from the start, as long-range radios failed to work and a farmer, who alerted the Iraqi authorities, discovered the team.

Three of the team died, among them Vince Phillips, four were captured, only one got away by walking the 300km to the Syrian border.

Andy McNab, the leader of the patrol published an account in a 1996 book titled Bravo Two Zero, and then Chris Ryan published another account, The One That Got Away.

A movie was made in 1999 based on the Andy McNab book starring Sean Bean.

Anthony Osborne