Mother’s Day, 2006, was to be a celebration for seven-year-old Anna McDonald (née Lewaice) at her grandmother’s home in Fiji. Yet news that day would change their lives forever.
“I went to answer the door and all I saw in front of me were two police officers and a man in a suit.” They brought the devastating news that Anna’s father had been killed in Iraq.
The Soul of the Platoon
Private Joseva Lewaicei, known as Lewi, was the first Fijian to join the Royal Anglian Regiment, and a trusted colleague. He helped a dyslexic comrade write letters to his girlfriend; another colleague named his son after him. To many, Lewi was “the soul of the platoon.”
To Anna, her father was “Ta Jo” (Daddy Jo), a gentle man who loved dancing with her. A cherished memory is when “he came back from Northern Ireland and he surprised us at home… I remember walking into the living room, and he was sat there with the rest of my family… it's something I kind of latch on to, because it's one of the last distinct memories I have of him.”
Lewi also served tours in Jordan and Afghanistan. Through getting to know her father’s colleagues, Anna developed a picture of his time in the Army. “Apparently no one wanted to arm wrestle him because he was just, he was just terrifying from the outside, but he was a very fierce friend.
“I think where he was at that time of his life was perfect, because he was with the people he was meant to be with.”
Lewi was a gifted sportsman. “He actually got a contract to play (professional) rugby, and he refused it because he wanted to go on tour. So he ended up going on tour instead to Iraq.”
“He’s come back home now”
In the spring of 2006 the Royal Anglian began its tour in Basra. The 2nd Battalion was tasked with stabilising areas of the city and they were subject to constant attacks; in three months they fired over 32,000 rifle rounds. On 13th May, Lewi and Private Adam Morris were on a routine patrol when a roadside IED detonated by their vehicle. Lewi was 25 years old. Adam was 19.
Their deaths hit the regiment extremely hard.
Anna remembers his repatriation to Fiji. “The one time it actually sunk in is when we went to the airport the night of his body arriving, and we were stood there… you could hear boots... And then they came round the corner with his coffin... it's the image of just them marching up with the Union Jack draped over… it was like… he's come back home now, but this is the only way he's come back home.”
One of those bearing Lewi’s coffin was his best friend, M, who brought her a teddy bear.
Looking after Anna
After an overnight vigil, Lewi was buried on the mountainside at the village where he grew up. The family began to try to recover, and the Royal Anglian Regiment did not forget them.
“The army kept in touch with my family… They said if there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. My mother wanted for me to have a really good education. So they said, 'Yep, we'll help you out with that'.”
The regiment sponsored Anna to attend the Royal Hospital School in Ipswich, near the Royal Anglian’s HQ. “The regiment were the kind of family I had in England.”
In Year 12, Anna had the honour of bearing the Queen’s Banner during a school parade. With her father’s comrades present, it was: “a day I’ll never forget… after being in that school for so many years, wearing my dad’s medals… It was very beautiful that they were there to watch.”
Anna also grew close to the family of George Watson, President of the Royal British Legion in Suffolk. They welcomed her whenever she could not return home. “He became a father figure for me,” Anna says.
“It’s the only community I know”
“There’ll never be a time where I won’t thank all this support,” she says. “My father’s friends and the Royal Anglian Regiment have always been there.”
For a long time, Anna considered joining the Army, feeling it was the only way to give back. She applied, even though she knew deep down it wasn’t what she wanted.
It was her godfather, Lewi’s close friend M, who helped her see that service could take many forms. She recalls his words “he'd say, 'You don't need to join the army if you don't want to… if you want something else for yourself, that’s absolutely fine.’ And he was probably the first person who actually told me that.”
Anna realised she could still contribute by sharing her story and supporting the armed forces community. “It’s the only community I know,” she reflects, “and it’s something I hold very close to my heart.”
M had been deeply affected by Lewi’s death and left the army soon afterwards. Over many years, he stayed in contact with Anna, offering advice and attending events to support her. Tragically, in 2025, M took his own life.
Larger than life
Anna is reminded of her father all the time. “The way (people) talk about him, it's beautiful… it kept him alive, his memory alive, his soul alive. And it just showed the kind of individual he was. He was just someone that was larger than life.”
Lewi’s name, along with that of Adam Morris, is engraved on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum; a physical space for Anna to visit and remember.
“I’m standing there not only for my father, now I’m standing there for all these soldiers… who haven’t made it home.” She reflects, “It’s made me open my mind more to see the value of life.”
