Blast death serviceman was to wed
A British soldier killed by an explosion on New Year's Day in southern Afghanistan has been named by the Ministry of Defence.
Serjeant Christopher John Reed, a Territorial Army soldier with the 6th Battalion The Rifles, was on a routine patrol in Garmsir district, Helmand province, when he died on Thursday. The 25-year-old's vehicle was involved in an explosion and he died at the scene.
It later emerged that he got engaged on the day he left for Afghanistan. The MoD said he and his fiancee Heather planned to have their wedding when he returned.
His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Tom Mereweather, paid tribute to a "talented, committed non-commissioned officer" and said the death was a "hammer blow" to the battalion.
Speaking from the unit's headquarters at Wyvern Barracks in Exeter, Devon, he said: "He was undoubtedly one of my very best section commanders. Calm, modest, easy-going but with a sense of purpose and obvious steel, he will be greatly missed."
Sjt Reed, from Plymouth, worked for Babcock Marine at Devonport Dockyard where he built luxury yachts.
In a statement his family, parents Brian and Joy Reed and brother Andrew, said he believed he was making a difference.
They said: "He touched the hearts of all he came into contact with. Christopher will be sadly missed. We are very proud of what he achieved and what he was trying to achieve."
Sjt Reed is the 138th British serviceman to die since the start of operations in October 2001.
The death is the first British loss in Afghanistan in 2009 and follows that of Royal Marine Corporal Liam Elms who was killed on New Year's Eve.
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