'We have made a difference for Iraq'.

Byline: By Chris Beckett South Wales Echo 

For Rhodri Darch the smell of cut grass gives him pleasure few people can understand.

The 26-year-old, a member of the 1st battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, returned back to Britain last week after five months serving in 50 degree heat in arid Southern Iraq.

Captain Darch, a regimental signals officer, is one of around 800 soldiers working to restore order to the area and, more than halfway through his posting, is proud of what the RWF has achieved.

He said: 'We feel we have made a positive and clear difference to the lives of the Iraqi people.'

After deploying to Iraq in April the battalion has had to cope with terrorism and corruption, bridging language and cultural barriers as it helps bring Iraq closer to peace.

The size of the task was graphically illustrated when a sickening double suicide bomb attacked one of its base camps in Az Zubayr, which left 14 Iraqi police officers dead and eight soldiers and many civilians injured.

But in July the RWF experienced a 'high point' after helping Az Zubayr stage elections, the first of their kind in southern Iraq.

Speaking at Cardiff's Maindy Barracks, Captain Darch, whose grandparents, Harry and Dorothy, live in Llanishen, Cardiff, said: 'It was our proudest moment and means we now have someone who can speak to us who represents the will of the people.

And he said that he missed the simple things while away.

'I missed the smell of cut grass, seeing my friends and family, playing rugby with the battalion down by Blackweir ambulance station, going into town and watching Cardiff play at Ninian Park.'

Captain Darch, who now lives in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, will return to Iraq on September 10 before finally coming home with the rest of the battalion in November.

In October 3, the date of the Cardiff Marathon, he will be covering the 26.2m from Az Zubayr Port to the Kuwaiti border to raise money for the Help a South Wales Child appeal.