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THE body of Jon Adams, a former Kent teacher killed by a terrorist bomb in the Gulf, was due to be flown home to Britain today.
Mr Adams, co-founder of Sittingbourne's Avenue Theatre, died when a truck packed with explosives blew up outside the Doha Theatre in the Arab state of Qatar. He had been directing Twelfth Night for the Doha Players.
Mr Adams, a former English and drama teacher at Borden Grammar School in Sittingbourne, had gone outside the theatre after hearing the truck being rammed into the wall of an adjacent building by the suicide bomber.
A friend, Chris Evans, who was appearing in the production, said Mr Adams’ wife Rosemarie, who escaped the explosion with minor injuries, was also due to leave Qatar today.
Mr Adams’ brother Mike and his wife had flown out to comfort Mrs Adams and were returning home with her. The funeral will be held in Dorset.
Mr Evans said that although Mrs Adams’ employer, the Qatar Foundation, had promised to keep her job as a supply teacher open, he believed she would be unlikely to return to the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Sittingbourne’s Avenue Theatre will fund-raising to help with the Doha Players’ fight back against the unexpected terrorist attack.
Mr Evans said members had held a major meeting, and agreed to rebuild the theatre.
"This is in accordance with Rosemarie’s wishes," Mr Evans said.
Mrs Jean Spann, of the Avenue Theatre, said early plans to aid the re-build fund-raising included donating proceeds from one performance by each of the company’s production groups.