A respected SAS soldier who died aged just 33 during a training exercise near Hereford is still remembered more than 25 years after his death.
Martin Jan "Bonnie" Bonness was serving with 22 Special Air Service Regiment when he was killed in a road collision near Allensmore on February 23, 2001.
Martin Bonness
Martin Jan “Bonnie” Bonness was a serving member of 22 Special Air Service Regiment who died while on duty on 23 February 2001.
Born in Torquay, Devon, on 16 April 1967, he joined the Royal Air Force in 1983 after spending time in the Army Cadets.
He later served as a corporal in the RAF Regiment before joining the SAS in 1996.
Bonness was attached to D Squadron and was regarded as a highly respected and experienced special forces soldier.
The fatal incident
Bonness was killed in a head-on collision near Allensmore, close to Hereford, while travelling as a passenger in one of two vehicles carrying SAS personnel.
The vehicles crashed during a training exercise on 23 February 2001. Reports described the incident as a “million-to-one” accident.
Three other soldiers were injured, with the men believed to have been on duty during the exercise.
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Family and funeral
Bonness was a husband and father of three daughters who lived in Hereford with his family.
He died aged 33. His funeral service was held at St Martin’s Church in Hereford, and he was buried in the SAS Regimental Plot at St Martin Churchyard.
Martin Bonness continues to be remembered among those who died while serving with Britain’s elite special forces.
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