Ex-British soldier who travelled to Ukraine is killed in a car crash

Ex-British soldier who travelled to Ukraine to help the fight against Russia is killed in a car crash while over there – and family face £10,000 bill to repatriate his body

• Julian Thorn died in crash in Ukraine and his fiancee is trying to repatriate body

A former British soldier who travelled to Ukraine to help fight against Russia has been killed in a car crash while in the war-torn country.

Julian Thorn, 36, from Hexham, Northumberland, died in the collision in Ukraine and his heartbroken fiancée is now facing a £10,000 bill to repatriate his body to the UK.

Thorn’s partner Louise Lathbury said his death has ‘left a void in my heart that can never be filled’ as she launched a fundraising drive to bring back his body.

The British sniper, known to his friends and family as Jay, had travelled to Ukraine in February last year to help train Ukrainian forces amid Vladimir Putin’s invasion. 

‘He was a believer in doing the right thing, so much so he went to Ukraine to support them, knowing his skill as a British army veteran would be of some use,’ Louise told the Northern Echo. 

Julian Thorn, 36, (pictured in Ukraine) from Hexham, Northumberland, died in the collision in Ukraine and his heartbroken fiancée is now facing a £10,000 bill to repatriate his body to the UK

The British sniper, known to his friends and family as Jay, had travelled to Ukraine in February last year to help train Ukrainian forces amid Vladimir Putin’s invasion

But Louise was told on May 21 that her fiance, who worked as a pub landlord after leaving the British army, had died in a car accident. She had been designing their wedding rings at a local workshop for their upcoming wedding earlier that day. 

‘I still can’t believe that he is gone and I won’t see or hear him again. He has been taken away from me too soon. I love and miss him.’  

Louise has now set up a GoFundMe page as she and Thorn’s family have to raise £10,000 to bring the ex soldier’s body home. Their insurance does not cover the costs of the repatriation efforts due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

‘As we all come to terms with this unthinkable loss, I have to face the overwhelming task of repatriating Jay back home. The cost of this is incredibly high and I’m reaching out for your support at this difficult time,’ Louise said. 

‘I am hoping to raise enough funds to get Jay home to the place he loves so much. I know that Jay touched the lives of so many people and I am incredibly grateful for any support you can offer during this difficult time,’ she added.

Thorn’s partner Louise Lathbury said his death has ‘left a void in my heart that can never be filled’ as she launched a fundraising drive to bring back his body. Pictured: Julian Thorn

Louise has now set up a GoFundMe page as she and Thorn’s family have to raise £10,000 to bring the ex soldier’s body home

Thorn, who previously ran a pub in the village of Allendale, spent eight years in the army before travelling to Ukraine to help troops there in February last year.

Louise told the ChronicleLive: ‘He was hard on the outside and soft on the inside. He had that exterior of being tough and he was tough but he was a big softy inside. He just wanted to do some good.

‘He had been going back and forward [to Ukraine] since the war started,’ said Louise. ‘He was doing a bit of everything over there. He was training a lot of soldiers, because he’s ex military and he was supporting different units.

‘He felt he had skills that could be used there. It was something he felt he had to do.’

Louise and Thorn, who met in a pub in Reading in 2019, said they had kept in touch while he was in Ukraine via a secure messaging app. 

‘We messaged every day and called as often as we could,’ she said. ‘I worried about him all the time.’ 

A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are providing support to the family of a British man following his death in Ukraine, and are in touch with the local authorities.’ 

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