Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Mum to challenge son’s burial ruling

Mum to challenge son’s burial ruling

A bitter feud over the body of a Fife Black Watch soldier which has lain in a morgue for more than three years is to continue after his mother’s decision to challenge a sheriff’s ruling over where he should be buried.

Linda McComiskie was heavily criticised for her self-interest and “distinct lack of compassion” in a judgment which Mark Connolly’s grieving widow, Stacy, hoped would bring an end to the battle.

Private Connolly, who survived shrapnelinjuries in an Afghanistan bomb attack in which he saw a comrade perish, died from a freak punch in a fight with a fellowsquaddie at his Paderborn base in Germanyin May 2011.

His wife’s intention, in accordance with what she told the court were her husband’s wishes expressed in a tearful conversation before he was due to depart for another Afghan tour, was for Mr Connolly to be buried in Forfar so he could ultimately be with her when she is laid to rest in the town’s Newmonthill Cemetery.

But Mr Connolly’s mum challenged the plan as executor of his will, saying she wanted him to be interred in a family plot at Macduff Cemetery in East Wemyss.

Following earlier legal wrangling at the Court of Session, the case was the subject of a civil proof at Forfar which last month saw a sheriff rule in Mrs Connolly’s favour.

In a damning judgment of Ms McComiskie’sconduct, Sheriff Valerie Johnston said the soldier’s mum had “thought only of herself and how she had been overlooked.”

The sheriff said the mother had shown a “lack of insight into the situation of a young recently widowed woman”.

“This is a battle waged by her to achieve the result she wants, with little regard for the body of her son languishing in storage in London for over three years,” the sheriff said.

She said Ms McComiskie had not exercised her powers as executor in a manner of concern for her late son’s wishes, but rather was driven by her attitude towards her daughter-in-law.

In contrast, Mark’s 29-year-old widow was described as having gone through the harrowing legal process in a “quiet dignified manner and with due regard to the delicacy of the subject matter involved”.

It has now emerged that following release of the interlocutor in the case, Ms McComiskie’s legal representative has lodged notification of intention to appeal Sheriff Johnston’s ruling.

The soldier’s mum is represented by Tony Anderson, a partner in Fife firm Rollos, who is currently on holiday and was unavailable to comment on the matter.

Mrs Connolly’s solicitor, Susie Clark of Bowmans in Forfar, said: “We are aware notification of intention to appeal had been lodged and will await a further decision in the progress of the matter.”

It is thought the appeal may go before the Sheriff Principal at a date yet to be determined.

Confirmation of the appeal has come at a harrowing time for the Forfar familyfollowing the tragic death of Stacy’s father, David Hoggan on holiday in Turkey, just days after release of the sheriff court judgment.

They had hoped to finally start the process of arranging what is expected to be a military funeral in Forfar, but now fear that the legal process will result in months of further delay.

Stacy’s mum Laura said: “His mother isn’t letting Stacy bury Mark, she’s taking it to an appeal court.

“It will take months and months to resolve and he’ll still be lying there.”