Sapper Anthony Walls, of the 21 Engineer Regiment, went to the
Co-op in Croydon to buy beer after a gruelling 34-hour journey home
from Kandahar.
The 27-year-old, said it was his 'first hour back in the real world'
after four-and-a-half months helping build "the most dangerous road
in Afghanistan".But when he arrived at the till to pay he was met
with a blank stare from the cashier, who refused to serve him and
called for her manager.
The manager then refused to serve Sapper Walls and told him he
"couldn't do anything about it."
The soldier, who was on his way to his three-year-old nephew Jack's
birthday party, left his beer at the check-out and walked out.
"All I was thinking about was getting home to Jack in time to wish
him a happy birthday," he said.
"It was great to be home after a difficult journey and I just
thought I'd grab a couple of beers - a luxury I hadn't had in a
while.
"But when I came to pay the cashier refused to serve me and rang her
bell. A male supervisor came along and the cashier explained she was
refusing to serve me because I was in uniform.
"He looked at me and said 'I can't do anything about it'. I put the
beer down and walked out. I was shocked and deeply hurt."
Sapper Walls, who joined the Army when he was 17, said it was
"tough" in Afghanistan and that he had witnessed the death of one of
his best friends, Sapper Daryn Roy, who died in an IED explosion in
May this year aged 28.
He added: "Sometimes the only thing that keeps you going is the
support and love from home.
"I appreciate the Co-op cashier may have had her own opinions about
the war, but we are just doing a job and laying our lives down for
this country. A little respect and appreciation would be nice."
His sister Claire Lloyd, 33, said she was "disgusted" at her
brother's treatment at the Co-op store in New Addington, Croydon, on
July 17.
"I am so proud of Anthony - he works hard and willingly puts his own
life on the line every day," she said. "To come home to this kind of
treatment is disgusting.
"I feel he deserves an apology in person from the Co-op. Anthony and
his colleagues are the unsung heroes of this country - they deserve
the respect and civility extended to anyone else in a uniform."
A Co-op spokeswoman said: “This was a genuine mistake on the part of
our two members of staff, and has nothing to do with anyone’s
ethnicity, religion or personal views. We have apologised to the
soldier in question and hope to welcome him back to the store.
“We do not have a policy that states that when wearing uniform,
members of the armed forces should not be served alcohol or
cigarettes and all are welcome in our stores.”
Sapper Walls flew back out to Afghanistan on Tuesday morning.
* * * * *
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint
o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.
*
*
*
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an'
"Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
From "TOMMY" by Rudyard Kipling
(1865-1936)
Some things never change.
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