A HAMPSHIRE war widow who has campaigned for the armed forces after losing her bomb disposal expert husband in Afghanistan five years ago has become a mother again.

Christina Schmid showed off her new baby Isabelle Rose, with partner Mark Clarke, as the nation remembered the war dead at remembrance events.

Ms Schmid gave birth 11 days before what would have been the fifth anniversary of the death of her staff sergeant husband Olaf, from Harestock, Winchester.

She already had a son, Laird, before she married Olaf – known to friends as Oz – but he brought him up as his own.

Speaking to Hello! magazine, Christina said: “Anniversaries are tough. No matter how many you have, they are always raw and you always feel different on that day and in the days just before and afterwards.

“Then, almost straight afterwards, we have Remembrance Day and it’s there again, that heaviness in your heart.

“But this year, for the first time, I’ve felt less overwhelmed because I’ve had something so wonderful to focus on.

“It’s no longer a time of year that I’ll approach with dread.

There’s something positive to celebrate that balances out the grief.”

Daily Echo:

Olaf (above) died on his last day of duty in Afghanistan and was posthumously awarded the George Cross for making 70 devices safe.