Private Richard Hunt dies of wounds sustained in Afghanistan

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private Richard Hunt from 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh died at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine in Selly Oak on Saturday 15 August 2009 from wounds sustained in Helmand province two days previously.

Private Hunt was wounded as result of an explosion while on a vehicle patrol near Musa Qaleh in Helmand province on the morning of 13 August 2009.

Private Richard Hunt

Private Richard Hunt, aged 21, was part of a vehicle patrol from A Company, 2nd Battalion The Royal Welsh, who are working to extend and enforce the writ of the Government of Afghanistan.

Private Richard Hunt, 'Hunty', was originally born in Haverford West, but then moved to Abergavenny, which he considered to be his home town and lived there until joining the Army in October 2007. He attended King Henry VIII Comprehensive School and Usk College before starting his training at the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick, where he was awarded the Physical Training Prize. He was immensely proud to be both an infanteer, and a member of the Royal Welsh.

After completing his training, 'Hunty' was posted to 2 Platoon in A Company, 2 Royal Welsh in April 2008 where he immediately became part of the team. His enthusiasm for soldiering was clear from the outset and he was quickly identified by his platoon staff as a bright, enthusiastic soldier capable of achieving a great deal. After acquitting himself well during a rigorous, but rewarding, period of Public Order training with A Company, Hunty specialised as a Warrior Armoured Infantry Fighting Vehicle driver, and it was in this role that he exercised extensively in preparation for his challenging deployment on Op HERRICK. Whilst a confident and skilled Warrior driver, Hunty was also fast developing into an excellent sniper and he showed clear leadership potential.

When A Company's deployment to Helmand Province was announced, Hunty was amongst the most enthusiastic of the Company's soldiers. He prepared himself as well as possible, and commendably took all he could from the training opportunities offered, actively seeking knowledge and drawing the wisdom from more experienced members of the Company.

Hazel and Phillip Hunt, Private Hunt's parents said:

"Richard showed us all his strength of character in many ways, proving to be thoughtful, vain and yet selfless to the end. He proved to us to be a loving son, brother and uncle at all times.

"He chose his battles with great thought. His bravado, ironically, masked his natural shyness. In our hearts he will be eternally missed and never replaced.

"We'd like to thank all those for their very kind thoughts and prayers from strangers, friends and family at this difficult time.

"His may have been the two hundredth death, whilst we have lost our son and brother, our thoughts are also with other injured and bereaved service personnel and their families, at what we know to be one of the most difficult times a family can face.

"He will be missed."