Almost three years to the day since a Fife soldier died in a German bar fight, his widow and mother wept in court during the closing stages of a case which will determine his final resting place.
The body of Black Watch Private Mark Connolly, from Methil, has lain in a London morgue since a brawl with a fellow squaddie in Germany claimed the life of the popular soldier.
His widow, Stacy, claims that shortly before his death on May 14 2011, after the fight at a bar in Padeborn, she shared a tearful conversation with her husband in which he said he wanted to be laid beside her in Forfar.
Mark’s mother, Linda McComiskie, wants to see her son buried in a family lair at MacDuff Cemetery in East Wemyss in accordance with what she has told the court was his stated wish to be close to his beloved grandfather.
Having already been the subject of a judicial review and a failed attempt at mediation in a bid to broker a solution, the parties on Monday completed their evidence at a civil proof in Forfar Sheriff Court which will finally determine where the soldier’s funeral is to be held.
Linda McComiskie broke down several times in the witness box as she gave evidence in a civil action brought by his 29-year-old widow.
But the impact of proceedings, which have exacted a heavy toll on the emotions of both families, was also evident in the demeanour of Stacy Connolly, who abruptly left the court at one point during her mother-in-law’s evidence about the man they both loved.
Ms McComiskie told the court of the difficult relationship with her daughter-in-law from their first meeting.
She told her solicitor, Tony Anderson, that the couple were already engaged the first time she met the woman who was to become her daughter-in-law in February 2009.
Turning to the events of June 2009 when her son was seriously injured in Afghanistan, Ms McComiskie said she had not gone to visit him in Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, but denied that it was because the army would not finance the trip.
She was then not able to go to Germany before her son died from the injuries suffered following the single punch because her passport was out of date, and the dispute over the funeral of the 24-year-old soldier began when Ms McComiskie said she was told by Stacy’s mother that bright colours would be worn.
Relations deteriorated further when a memorial service was held at the Fort George barracks near Inverness, but Stacy’s solicitor, Susie Clark, said that had been for Mark’s service pals.
“Stacy is left with the emotional burden of trying to carry out Mark’s wishes, having had a private conversation with her husband before he was going back to the place he dreaded, Afghanistan, and because none of you like her, she is not able to do that,” the solicitor added.
The parties will return to court on May 22 to deliver written submissions before Sheriff Valerie Johnston considers her judgment in the matter.