MAY 22: WAR hero Damien Slater visited Malmesbury Primary School on Monday to thank children who wrote to him while he fought in Iraq.

Bombardier Slater, 28, has just returned from fighting in Iraq with the 7th Parachute Regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery.

His ten-year-old brother Tom Slater goes to Malmesbury School and Tom's teacher Cathy Conway and assistant teacher Sue Pratt thought it would be a good idea if the children did their bit and sent letters to Bdr Slater.

Mrs Conway said: "It was difficult time for Tom. He was very excited but we could see that he was very worried as well.

"We wondered if there was something we could do to help and we thought writing letters to the troops in the front, like the people we were studying in World War II, was a good idea."

During his visit to the school, Bdr Slater, who was with the first British troops to cross into Iraq supporting American marines, chatted with children in years five and six about his experiences and told them he was very grateful for their letters.

He said: "It was fantastic to get the mail from the children. We didn't get anything for two weeks when we had gone into Iraq then we got 20 sacks."

Bdr Salter lives with his wife Victoria in Colchester but travelled to Malmesbury at the weekend to see his sister Rebecca Deacon, of Alexander Road, and his parents, Lynne and John Slater, of Parklands.

Mrs Deacon said it had been an anxious time for the family because he was deep behind enemy lines and they had not been able to speak to him for weeks.

She said everyone was delighted to see him. "It has been a big relief for the whole family," said Mrs Deacon. "He came down for the weekend and everybody was excited to see him. We are just very happy to see him back alive."

Recounting his experiences on the frontline, Bdr Slater told children how his regiment moved from Kuwait and was part of the force that took the Ramallah oil fields and the city of Nasiriyya between Basra and Baghdad.

He said: "The nearest we came to being hit was when we came under fire from an Iraqi T55 tank. We took a round about 40ft away. The guys were worried we had been hit, but we emerged from the dust like something from a Laurel and Hardy film, we were fine."

His regiment crossed into Iraq from Northern Kuwait 36 hours earlier than planned on March 19. He said: "We were a little nervous before going in but the training kicks in and you just do your job. I remember turning to a colleague and smiling and saying we would meet on the other side."

Bdr Slater said his regiment was up for a commendation for its actions.

He said the people of Iraq, who he said were quite nervous until they realised the ruling Ba'ath party was collapsing, gave him gifts and thanked him for what coalition forces had done.

The children at Malmesbury Primary School were very lucky, Bdr Slater added, because he had seen schools in Iraq that were just mud huts and only contained grenades.