Sapper Guy Mellors killed in Afghanistan

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper Guy Mellors from 36 Engineer Regiment, serving as part of the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, was killed in Afghanistan on 15 February 2010.

Sapper Mellors died from wounds received as a result of an explosion which occurred while he was engaged in IED clearance operations in support of A Company, 3 Rifles, near Patrol Base Ezaray to the north east of Sangin district centre.

Sapper Guy Mellors

Sapper Guy Mellors deployed on his first operational tour in October 2009. He was trained as a Searcher in a Royal Engineers Advanced Search Team responsible for the detection of improvised explosive devices in areas deemed to be high risk.

The main driver for Sapper Mellors enlisting in the Corps of Royal Engineers in September 2006 was that he could gain a vocational trade. He was schooled as a Building and Structural Finisher and on completion of his training he was immediately posted to 20 Field Squadron, 36 Engineer Regiment in Maidstone, Kent.

Sapper Mellors was an experienced and highly regarded searcher and was first in line for a Junior Non-Commissioned Officer Cadre on his return to the UK such was the progress he was making professionally.

A keen rugby player who enjoyed both the physical game and the social aspects, Sapper Mellors was a fit and enthusiastic soldier.

Born in Coventry in 1989, Sapper Mellors was a young man who lived life to the full in everything he did. He leaves behind his mother Linda, step-father William and his two younger sisters Lana, aged 13 and Kia, aged 6.His mother, Mrs Linda Holland, has made the following statement on behalf of the family:

"Very Proud of Guy. He will always be our hero, he lived his dream."

Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Bex RLC, Commanding Officer, Counter IED Task Force said:
"The Counter IED battle is a tough one, but he knew that we are making steady progress and his team had found scores of IEDs since deploying in October 2009. This success is due to the courage and deeds of men like Sapper Mellors and, hard though it is, we must hold our nerve and forge on with the same determination that he showed.

"My heart goes out to his family, especially his mother Linda, and young sisters Lana and Kia – Sapper Mellors was a tremendous young man and a credit to his family."

Second George Medal for bomb hero

Army chiefs have awarded a second George Medal to a bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan last year.

Warrant Officer Gary O'Donnell, 40, of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, was killed in September while trying to make safe a Taliban explosive device in Helmand Province.
He had won the George Medal - awarded for extreme bravery - after making safe similar devices in southern Iraq in 2006.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said Warrant Officer O'Donnell had been awarded a second, posthumous George Medal for the work he was doing when he died.

Army officials said Warrant Officer O'Donnell, a father of four, was approaching a booby-trapped bomb to try to clear a path for fellow soldiers when it detonated and killed him.

He had been commanding a team of specialist bomb disposal engineers and was nearing the end of his six-month tour of duty.

Following his death, Lieutenant Colonel Dave Wilson, Commander of the Joint Force Engineer Group said Warrant Officer O'Donnell was an "amazing man".

"The danger to his own life rarely seemed to affect him," said Lieutenant Colonel Wilson.

"Men of this calibre are extremely rare."