LOCAL war hero Paul Donnachie could appear on a commemorative postage stamp along with other service personnel who have died in the Iraq war.
The former Burghfield Common soldier died in combat in Iraq last year aged just 18.
Offical war artist Steve McQueen has collected pictures of dead servicemen and is urging the Royal Mail to acknowledge their sacrifices by featuring the images on postal stamps.
Paul’s father James Donnachie, of Hollybush Lane, told the Newbury Weekly News: “It is important to show our appreciation for the job the soldiers are doing abroad.
“They work in horrible conditions and we should show them more respect.
“This is not a political statement supporting the campaign to have the pictures put on stamps.
“I feel that having Paul’s picture on a stamp would be a good way to remember our son.”
The former pupil at The Willink School had only joined the Army in December 2006.
He was part of a patrol containing fellow soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Rifles, when they were engaged with the enemy in the southern city of Basra.
Mr Donnachie said: “It has been very hard for the family since Paul died.
“We are trying to return to normality.
“We have received a lot of support from the people of Burghfield, including the congregation at St Oswald’s Roman Catholic Church.
“Seeing the picture of Paul on a stamp would bring a mixture of pride and sadness.
“Hopefully it will also encourage people to talk about it as a lot of people find it difficult to approach the subject.”
The charity The Art Fund recently launched the campaign to commemorate the soldiers and so far, more than 10,000 people have signed an on-line petition supporting the plan to issue the stamps.
The official war artist, Steve McQueen, wrote to relatives of the dead soldiers, and he has so far received 137 pictures.
The pictures are on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Royal Mail spokeswoman Jane Thomas said: “The role and sacrifice of Britain’s servicemen and women feature in our special stamps programme every year.
“As part of last year’s programme, Royal Mail issued stamps to commemorate British Army uniforms and also a set of stamps for Remembrance Day marking the 90th anniversary of the third Battle of Ypres, while in our programme this year we will be issuing stamps celebrating the RAF and another marking Armistice Day, the end of World War I.
“Royal Mail receives around 3,000 requests every year for special stamps but only 10 subjects can be chosen.
“Therefore it is impossible to accomodate every request.”
The petition can be found at www.artfund.org/queenandcountry/index