30/05/2007

MoD names soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Ministry of Defence has named a British soldier who was killed in southern Afghanistan.

Corporal Darren Bonner, of the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglican Regiment, was killed in an explosion in the Gereshk region of the Helmand province.

Corporal Bonner, 31, was known as 'Big Daz' and was described as a "larger than life figure who made a positive impact on everyone that he met".

He was engaged and had been intending to buy a home in Great Yarmouth following his tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Corporal Bonner joined the army in 1993 and served with the regiment's 2nd Battalion on operational deployments in Northern Ireland and the Balkans. In 2004, he moved across to the Ist Battalion and served as a key member of the Signals Platoon in Iraq in 2006.

His Company Commander, Major Dominic Biddick, said: "Corporal Bonner was an incredibly caring and compassionate man. Behind the tattoos and the muscle lay a man with huge emotional intelligence, who provided a real father figure to many of the younger soldiers in A Company.

"It is tragic to see the life of a devout Christian taken in this fateful manner, to see fate being so cruel to a dedicated young man who was genuinely striving to make a difference.

"Darren will never be forgotten by those of us that soldiered with him. His death is a tragic loss, but one that strengthens our resolve and our determination to succeed."

(KMcA/JM)


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