OXFORDSHIRE paid respects to one of its own as three fallen servicemen were repatriated yesterday.

Lance Corporal Michael Foley, 25, of the Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support), was repatriated alongside Captain Rupert Bowers, 24, of the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment, and Sergeant Luke Taylor, 33, of the Royal Marines.

More than 800 people turned out at the memorial garden on the edge of Carterton and many more lined the route from RAF Brize Norton to Oxford to pay tribute.

L Cpl Foley served with 3 and 4 Logistics Support Regiments in Dalton Barracks, Abingdon, after joining the Army in 2003 and is the first Oxfordshire-based soldier to be repatriated since RAF Brize Norton resumed the duty in September.

His friend Lisa Jones, 31, of Lyneham in Wiltshire, said: “He was genuinely a really nice bloke. He always had a lovely smile on him and he was always happy.

“He loved his wife Sophie and his three boys so much.

“That was the main thing about Mike, he was such a family man.

“I cannot get my head around being here. It does not feel real – it feels like a dream.”

Friend Aimee Litton, 27, of Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, added: “He loved his family so much and his boys were his world. This is just devastating.”

After serving with the Abingdon units, L Cpl Foley was posted to 9 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in Chippenham, Wiltshire, between 2008 and 2010. He flew to Afghanistan in September.

Warrant Officer Class 2 Jim Double, of 9 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, said: “He was an absolutely superb bloke.

“He was one of those people who no one would ever have a bad word to say about and would do anything he could for anyone.

“Being here knocks the wind out of you. It is gut-wrenching for the fact he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.”

L Cpl Foley is the first member of the Adjutant General’s Corps (Staff and Personnel Support) to be killed in action in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Corporal Rob Davie, regiment colonel of the Adjutant General’s Corps, said: “He was held in the highest esteem by all who came to know him and he will be sorely missed.

“His regimental family will do all that they can to support his wife and his children over the coming days, weeks and indeed months – for as long as it takes.”

Colonel Ed Newman, Station Commander at Dalton Barracks, said: “Everyone at Abingdon Station was deeply saddened to learn of his death in Afghanistan on Monday.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues at this very difficult time.”

L Cpl Foley and Sgt Taylor were shot and killed by a rogue Afghan soldier in Helmand on Monday and Capt Bowers was killed by a bomb while on patrol in Helmand on March 21.

Sgt Taylor was described by his colleagues as a selfless, dedicated and talented Royal Marine who approached everything he did with passion, a keen sense of humour and the desire to excel.

Capt Bowers family, in a statement, said: “Rupert was a kind, caring and thoughtful man who was selfless in his actions as a brave and courageous soldier.

“He was a devoted husband, son and father.”