2nd Lt. Joanna Yorke Dyer, Duke of Lancaster Regiment, was among four soldiers killed by a roadside bomb west of Basra City on April 9, 2007.After graduating Oxford University with a degree in Political Science/Economics, Ms. Dyer went on to Officer Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. A classmate of Prince William, Joanna commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in December, 2006 and was posted to Iraq to gain operational experience.
Described as "bright, ballsy and an absolute credit to the Army," Jo won both respect and affection from her comrades and superiors. Her commanding officer commended her "boundless enthusiasm" while her peers marveled at her "thirst for knowledge" and pragmatic experience. Of her chipper personality, one mate noted:
"Jo always managed to amaze us with the amount of mail she received – this is testament to just how loved and popular she was. She always spoke with great pride of her family, her partner and her friends back home."
The "partner" Jo extolled -- Lt. Robin Bourne-Taylor of the Household Cavalry (Lifeguards) -- bragged no less of her to the other oarsmen competing that spring for seats on Britain's Men's Eight, a necessary stepping stone to Beijing. "She's the one," he confided to his companionable rowing rival Alastair Heathcote, a captain in the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals.
Longtime oarsman Bourne-Taylor, impressed by Heathcote's athleticism, had sized him up as an ideal rower. He'd recruited Alastair to join his own longplanned bid for the Olympic crew. The two soldiers encouraged each other in their bids for the Olympic squad through many hours of rigorous land training, Robin mentoring the newcomer in the on-water essentials.
A Basra hand, Heathcote proved a fortunate choice when the stunning news of Johanna's misfortune hit the rower's camp. The captain's was a steady shoulder on which Bourne-Taylor braced himself. While the civilians on the rowing squad certainly "got it" about the deeply personal loss Robin faced, it was Al alone who could share Robin's grief for Jo as a sister-in-arms fallen for Queen and country.
The disciplined stoicism of British soldiery is legendary; compound that with a similar fortitude demanded by the sport of rowing and you have a hard nut for Britain's (equally legendary) sensationalist press to crack.
Keep this in mind as you view Sky News' interview with Lt. Bourne-Taylor and Captain Heathcote. A stiff upper lip should not be mistaken for shallowness of feeling -- indeed: for fellows like these, the measure is quite the contrary.
In rowing preliminaires beginning Saturday (8/9/08), Bourne-Taylor will be competing in pairs while Heathcote boats with the 8. Also in rowing events, Lt. Peter Reed of the Royal Navy competes in men's fours.
Meanwhile Lt. Commander Penny Clark of the Royal Navy goes for the gold in laser radial singles sailing.
For profiles and schedules, check out the Olympics feature page at the MoD's Defence News site.
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