THE mother of a former soldier murdered in Iraq this week revealed the extent of her family’s suffering as she continues the long battle to come to terms with her son’s death.

Corinne Boyd-Russell told the Peeblesshire News that she and her first husband never wanted their son Paul McGuigan to join the Army.

The former Peebles schoolboy was killed by a colleague while working as a security guard in Baghdad in August 2009.

Four months later his father John, a former Peebles rugby player and regular at the Beltane Festival, died in Ireland where he lived with his new wife.

And the former Royal Marine’s mother added she has suffered illnesses and estrangement from the two children of the son she described as a “gentle, caring man” and a “doting father”.

Hopes of some sort of closure for her were crushed earlier this month when an inquest in Stockport into Paul’s death was adjourned until next February.

Mrs Boyd-Russell, talking from her home in Innerleithen, said: “We forbade him from joining the Army but he went behind our backs and joined the Royal Marines.

“We thought there was no way he would get through the training but he ended up being in the Marines for seven and a half years.

“All that’s left of my son’s life now is pieces of paper but I won’t give up in this.

“The inquest is going to take another four weeks so I won’t be able to go to all of it but I hope I will be there for the end and I pray they will return a verdict of unlawful killing.” Paul married Charlie, a radio operator in the Navy, in 2003 and they had a son, Reece, before splitting up in 2006.

Two year later he met Nicola, who was pregnant at the time of his death. Her daughter Elsie-Mai was born a few weeks later. Paul was born at the Peebles Nursing Home on Tweed Green and a pupil at Priorsford School before going to the High School. He gained some experience as a commis chef at the Horseshoe in Eddleston but his sights were firmly set on the Army.

When he left the Army Paul got a job with former Beatle George Harrison. He was employed by Harrison right up to the musician’s death.

Afterwards he worked in IT and tried his hand as a plasterer in Ireland before working in security in Iraq for the final six years of his life.

It was while he was in the Army that Paul received the training for the security job he was doing when he met his death.

Paul, 37, was killed, along with his Australian workmate Darren Hoare, by former paratrooper Daniel Fitzsimons whilst they were stationed in Baghdad working for security firm ArmorGroup, a subsidiary of G4S.

Mrs Boyd-Russell, now remarried, lived in Peebles for 40 years and for 18 of them worked for Henderson Travel in Northgate. She makes the short journey back to the town every week to visit Paul’s grave.

“I’ve got so many happy memories of Paul. He was the most loving, gentle and kind laddie you could ever meet and always had a cuddle for his mother.”