WIVES and children of soldiers fighting in Iraq gathered at Army barracks in Maidstone for a Mother’s Day lunch in honour of their absent loved ones.

They shared each other’s anxieties, fuelled by little or no contact with their menfolk and a barrage of war images in the news since the fighting began.

For Jill Garland, of Kings Bastion, Gillingham, those images struck fear into her heart when she recognised a fallen soldier as one of her husband’s friends.

Cambridgeshire-based Staff Sgt Simon Collingworth, had worked as a bomb disposal expert with her husband, Staff Sgt Richard Garland, now of 36 Regiment Royal Engineers, based at Invicta Barracks, Maidstone.

Mrs Garland said: “I didn’t even realise it was Simon until I opened up the paper and saw a picture of him in his mess dress.

“It upset me very, very much. When you find out that something like that has happened to someone you’ve been close to for many years it’s absolutely horrible.”

She added: “I had a letter from Richard a week ago, the last telephone conversation was two weeks ago and that’s hard.”

Staff Sgt Garland said goodbye to his two daughters, Rebecca, seven, and Lucy, three, six weeks ago.

His wife said: “Our youngest one is taking it really bad. Since Richard’s been gone, every single night she’s dreaming, shouting. About three weeks ago she was having a nightmare, shouting, ‘I don’t want anything else, I just want my daddy,’ and flinging her arms around in her sleep.”

Staff Sgt Garland’s mother-in-law, Joan Hawley, from Sheffield, said: “He’s the most thoughtful son-in-law anyone could have and all we want is for him to be back home as soon as possible.

“I think the lads are doing a fantastic job. What does annoy me is that I know friendly fire can happen but nine times out of 10 it’s to do with the Americans and I can’t understand why it’s so frequent.”

Shelly McClure, of Sally Port Gardens, Gillingham, fought back tears over the lack of news from her husband, Lance Cpl Tam McClure. She said: “I’m frightened and sick, it’s difficult.

“I don’t think we’re getting enough information because the barracks haven’t got enough information themselves.”

Lance Cpl McClure’s daughter, four-year-old Kelsey, is aware of her father’s bravery.

Her mother said: “She knows he’s in the desert and she’s waiting to see him on TV.

“None of us wanted to send our husbands to war but that is their job so we have to support them.

“I think now it’s about time the protesters shut up and thought about other people’s feelings.”

Serina Donkin who lives at the barracks in Royal Engineers Road, is trying to keep life as normal as possible for her two sons, six-year-old Jordan and four-year-old Ben, while their father, Lance Cpl Jon Donkin, is away.

She said: “If Jordan sees something in the news from Iraq and asks if daddy is there, I say no, he’s in Kuwait.

“The younger one really misses his daddy every night when I put him to bed.”

She said: “That’s the hardest thing for my husband, to have to be separated from his sons.”

Tracey Ferguson, of Sonora Way, Bobbing, near Sittingbourne, said her son, Stuart, 13, was very anxious about his dad, Staff Sgt Gordon Ferguson.

Lorraine Houston, of Kings Bastion, Gillingham, has decided not to tell her two children that their father is serving in the Gulf while they are away at boarding school. She said: “We haven’t heard anything since the war started.”

She and her husband, Staff Sgt Frank Houston, have been friends with Mrs Ferguson and her husband since the men served together in Germany 10 years ago.

Both women said that the time for protest against the war was over. The 36 Regiment Royal Engineers has been involved from the start of the coalition campaign, providing essential back-up to front-line troops.

The men were among the first British troops to arrive in Kuwait, in February, and are believed to have been active in restoring power and water supplies, building bridges and clearing mines.

They are expected to enter Iraq’s second city of Basra once front line troops declare it safe to restore supplies.