Soldiers honoured for Afghan service

A medals parade has been held in Northern Ireland for soldiers who lost two colleagues during fighting in Afghanistan.

It was staged at the Lisburn base of 40th Regiment Royal Artillery on Thursday.

Bombardier Craig Hopson and Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton from Yorkshire were killed this summer in Helmand province.

Commanding Officer Lt Colonel Owen Adams said: "We have all been devastated by the loss of these fine young men who died in the service of their Battery, their Regiment and their country.

"They died on the battlefield leading soldiers in the most challenging of situations, they were both exceptionally brave, proud and professional soldiers who relished the opportunity to serve in Afghanistan and were an inspiration to us all."

Lance Bombardier Hatton, 23, from Haxby, North Yorkshire, died in the explosion in Sangin on August 13th.

Bombardier Hopson, 24, of Castleford, West Yorkshire, died while on a vehicle patrol in the Babaji area of Helmand on July 25th.

Lt Col Adams said the Regiment saved fellow soldiers' lives daily through their firepower and completed over 1,500 missions during the six-month deployment.

"It has been unbearably hot, reaching upwards of 45 degrees celsius, highly pressured and frightening," he said.

"They have lived among the ever present Improvised Explosive Device and small arms threat while knowingly putting themselves in danger right at the front, or at the extreme edges, of the advancing forces to ensure that they gain positive identification of the enemy."

"They died on the battlefield leading soldiers in the most challenging of situations, they were both exceptionally brave, proud and professional soldiers who relished the opportunity to serve in Afghanistan and were an inspiration to us all."

Lance Bombardier Hatton, 23, from Haxby, North Yorkshire, died in the explosion in Sangin on August 13th.

Bombardier Hopson, 24, of Castleford, West Yorkshire, died while on a vehicle patrol in the Babaji area of Helmand on July 25th.

Lt Col Adams said the Regiment saved fellow soldiers' lives daily through their firepower and completed over 1,500 missions during the six-month deployment.

"It has been unbearably hot, reaching upwards of 45 degrees celsius, highly pressured and frightening," he said.

"They have lived among the ever present Improvised Explosive Device and small arms threat while knowingly putting themselves in danger right at the front, or at the extreme edges, of the advancing forces to ensure that they gain positive identification of the enemy."