Tidworth trooper was always first to volunteer (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Tidworth trooper was always first to volunteer

2:19pm Friday 3rd July 2009

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A TEENAGE soldier based in Tidworth has lost his life in Afghanistan.

He was Trooper Joshua Hammond of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment who died on 1 July when the Viking armoured vehicle in which he was travelling was hit by a roadside bomb while it was moving alongside the Shamalan Canal in Helmand province.

The family of Trooper Joshua Hammond, said: "Joshua was a tremendous son.

“He was proud to be a soldier and died doing a job he loved.

“We are devastated by the loss of Joshua, who was a loving son. We are proud of the fact that Joshua was prepared to do his duty, helping the people of Afghanistan."

Lt Col Marcus Simson, the Commanding Officer 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, said: “Trooper Joshua Hammond enlisted in the Army aged 16 and a half and attended the Army Foundation College in Harrogate to complete his initial training.

“From Harrogate, having been accepted into the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, Trooper Hammond moved to Bovington to learn his trade as a Challenger 2 tank driver.

"He arrived with the regiment in Tidworth in May 2008, shortly before his 18th birthday and within months had deployed with his squadron to Canada where he spent a happy and fulfilling three months training on the prairie.

“He quickly established himself as a professional and capable young soldier, full of potential and with a future full of promise.

"On his return from Canada, Trooper Hammond volunteered to change squadron in order to deploy to Afghanistan.

“He threw himself into life in his new squadron, the pre-deployment training and his conversion to the Viking vehicle that he would be operating in theatre.

"He deployed with his squadron to Afghanistan exactly a month ago. In the month he had in theatre, he proved himself to be a superb soldier.

“Fit, courageous, and robust, he was the first to volunteer, the first to muck in and the first to offer help to others.”

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