Cyprus biking death soldier named

A BRITISH soldier who died after falling ill while mountain biking in Cyprus has been named by the Ministry of Defence as Warrant Officer (Class Two) Graham Bean, of the Royal Engineers.

The 54-year-old father-of-three, a Territorial Army soldier of 73 Engineer Regiment, was serving on operations with the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) as a VIP visit co-ordinator.

Help was called after he fell ill but WO2 Bean, who was from Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, was pronounced dead at a hospital in Nicosia, the capital of the Mediterranean island, on Tuesday evening.

In a statement, his wife and three children said: “It has been such a shock to lose a loving father and husband who brought so much laughter and so many smiles to all who knew him. We will miss you, Dad.”

WO2 Bean’s son, David, 28, is currently preparing to serve in Afghanistan. He also leaves wife Michele and daughters Hazel, 26, and 17-year-old Nicola.

British troops in Cyprus patrol the buffer zone or “green line” separating the north and south of the island by vehicle, foot or mountain bike.

The Ministry of Defence said WO2 Bean was on duty, taking part in a mountain biking activity, when he became ill.

WO2 Bean joined the TA in 1975 and was promoted to Lance Corporal within a year. He reached Warrant Officer rank in 1996 and served in a variety of posts including Squadron Sergeant Major of 272 Field Park Squadron and Troop Commander of Regimental Headquarters.

He had served in Bosnia and Iraq before deploying to Cyprus in March, where he was “doing something he cared passionately about, in the service of peace and of his country”, the MoD said.

It was a sign of his “selflessness”, it added, that WO2 Bean, who was attached to 3 Royal Anglian Group, raised more than 1,000 euro (£900) for the Army Benevolent Fund in his first month in Nicosia.

The UN Special Representative of the Secretary General (Cyprus Mission), Lisa M Buttenheim, said: “Graham’s passing will be deeply felt by all of us within the United Nations family here in Cyprus.