Private
Black Watch, 3rd Battalion
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
British Army
He was an infantryman deployed with the UK contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Pte McLaren was killed when an improvised bomb exploded during a fire-fight with insurgents in Kandahar Province.
Aged 20, he from the small village of Kintra on the Isle of Mull. He enlisted in November 2007, completed training in England and joined his regiment earlier in 2009. He was four weeks into active service and two weeks shy of his 21st birthday when he died. He was described as a fit, enthusiastic, selfless soldier with an easy manner and dry sense of humour.
Pte McLaren is survived by his parents Alasdair and Linda, his sister Laura, and other family members.
The funeral service was held on June 29, 2009 at St Ernan's Church, Creich, near Fionnphort. More than 70 mourners packed the tiny church while over 300 more watched on screens set up outside and at nearby Creich Hall. It is thought to have been the first military funeral on the island since World War II. An army of volunteers in Fionnphort and Bunessan had spent the week cutting grass, painting fences and preparing to feed the hundreds of mourners.
*Sincere thanks to Edda Meinikat for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
*Thanks to John Macdonald for the headstone photos
Black Watch, 3rd Battalion
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
British Army
He was an infantryman deployed with the UK contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Pte McLaren was killed when an improvised bomb exploded during a fire-fight with insurgents in Kandahar Province.
Aged 20, he from the small village of Kintra on the Isle of Mull. He enlisted in November 2007, completed training in England and joined his regiment earlier in 2009. He was four weeks into active service and two weeks shy of his 21st birthday when he died. He was described as a fit, enthusiastic, selfless soldier with an easy manner and dry sense of humour.
Pte McLaren is survived by his parents Alasdair and Linda, his sister Laura, and other family members.
The funeral service was held on June 29, 2009 at St Ernan's Church, Creich, near Fionnphort. More than 70 mourners packed the tiny church while over 300 more watched on screens set up outside and at nearby Creich Hall. It is thought to have been the first military funeral on the island since World War II. An army of volunteers in Fionnphort and Bunessan had spent the week cutting grass, painting fences and preparing to feed the hundreds of mourners.
*Sincere thanks to Edda Meinikat for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
*Thanks to John Macdonald for the headstone photos
Private
Black Watch, 3rd Battalion
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
British Army
He was an infantryman deployed with the UK contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Pte McLaren was killed when an improvised bomb exploded during a fire-fight with insurgents in Kandahar Province.
Aged 20, he from the small village of Kintra on the Isle of Mull. He enlisted in November 2007, completed training in England and joined his regiment earlier in 2009. He was four weeks into active service and two weeks shy of his 21st birthday when he died. He was described as a fit, enthusiastic, selfless soldier with an easy manner and dry sense of humour.
Pte McLaren is survived by his parents Alasdair and Linda, his sister Laura, and other family members.
The funeral service was held on June 29, 2009 at St Ernan's Church, Creich, near Fionnphort. More than 70 mourners packed the tiny church while over 300 more watched on screens set up outside and at nearby Creich Hall. It is thought to have been the first military funeral on the island since World War II. An army of volunteers in Fionnphort and Bunessan had spent the week cutting grass, painting fences and preparing to feed the hundreds of mourners.
*Sincere thanks to Edda Meinikat for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
*Thanks to John Macdonald for the headstone photos
Black Watch, 3rd Battalion
The Royal Regiment of Scotland
British Army
He was an infantryman deployed with the UK contingent of NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Pte McLaren was killed when an improvised bomb exploded during a fire-fight with insurgents in Kandahar Province.
Aged 20, he from the small village of Kintra on the Isle of Mull. He enlisted in November 2007, completed training in England and joined his regiment earlier in 2009. He was four weeks into active service and two weeks shy of his 21st birthday when he died. He was described as a fit, enthusiastic, selfless soldier with an easy manner and dry sense of humour.
Pte McLaren is survived by his parents Alasdair and Linda, his sister Laura, and other family members.
The funeral service was held on June 29, 2009 at St Ernan's Church, Creich, near Fionnphort. More than 70 mourners packed the tiny church while over 300 more watched on screens set up outside and at nearby Creich Hall. It is thought to have been the first military funeral on the island since World War II. An army of volunteers in Fionnphort and Bunessan had spent the week cutting grass, painting fences and preparing to feed the hundreds of mourners.
*Sincere thanks to Edda Meinikat for her generous sponsorship of this memorial page.
*Thanks to John Macdonald for the headstone photos
Inscription
NEMO ME IMPUNE LASSEIT.
30029105 PRIVATE Robert McLean McLaren THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF SCOTLAND, 11 JUNE 2009, Age 20
MAN OF COURAGE, ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU
