The father of the most senior British officer to be killed in Afghanistan spoke yesterday of his pride that his son's death had led to the armed forces being better equipped.
Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, who commanded 1,000 Welsh Guards, was killed by a Taliban roadside bomb after volunteering to take the most dangerous position in an armoured vehicle to inspire his troops.
An inquest yesterday heard that only three weeks earlier the 39-year- old wrote a damning memo on the lack of helicopter support in Helmand.
He complained bitterly in the email to his superiors that helicopter support for troops was 'very clearly not fit for purpose' and meant that troops had to be moved by road rather than by air, exposing them to the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Yesterday Trooper Hammond's parents said: 'We were devastated by Josh's death and as a family his loss has left a gaping hole in our lives.All above quoted from the Mail
'But we are also very proud, not only of what he achieved but of the way he chose to live his life.'
Poster from here
Earlier this week another inquest was told that three soldiers would not have died as a result of American 'friendly fire' if a radio operator had been supplied with a headset.
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