The latest fatality in Afghanistan is the highest ranking Army officer to be killed since the Falklands War, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has revealed.
Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, from Monck’s Row, Wandsworth, was killed by an explosion whilst on convoy near Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province.
The Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was travelling in a Viking armoured vehicle, but at 1520hrs local time an Iprovised Explosive Device (IED) was detonated beneath it.
A statement on the MOD website read said: “It is with deep sadness that the Ministry of Defence can confirm that Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe MBE, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed on Wednesday, 1 July, in Afghanistan.
Lt Col Thorneloe is also the most senior soldier to have been killed in action since Lt Col Herbert 'H' Jones in 1982.
Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, from Plymouth, also died in the same explosion and these latest deaths brings the number of British troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 171.
The head of the British Army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said Lt Col Thorneloe was an “outstanding Commanding Officer and a born leader, who I knew well”.
He added: “His courageous, thoughtful stewardship of 1st Battalion Welsh Guards since October last year has seen them superbly prepared for the demands of Afghanistan.”
His wife Sally, said: "Rupert was my very best friend and his death is a devastating blow. Our daughters Hannah and Sophie will have to grow up without their beloved Daddy, although I will see a part of him in them every day.
"Rupert loved the Army. He was a born soldier - an inspiration. I know he led from the front and would not have had it any other way. His charisma, compassion and enthusiasm for all in life will be so sorely missed by his family and many friends but most of all by me who loved him so much."
A Clarence House spokesman said the Prince of Wales, who is Colonel of the Welsh Guards, was "deeply saddened" by Lt Col Thorneloe's death.
Did you know Lt Col Thorneloe? Leave your tributes at wandworthguardian.co.uk
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