Military Cross hero named as latest Afghanistan casualty
Acting Sergeant Michael Lockett MC
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By inthenews. |  |
Tuesday, 22, Sep 2009 05:46
By Richard James.
A British soldier killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan has been named by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Acting Sergeant Michael Lockett MC, of Second Battalion the Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), died while on patrol in Helmand Province on Monday.
The MoD said he had been part of a dismounted patrol near Patrol Base Sandford in the Gereshk district of Helmand when an explosion detonated, killing him.
Sergeant Lockett is said to have been investigating the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) when it exploded.
Two other soldiers were also injured in the same incident.
It has since emerged Sergeant Lockett was previously awarded the Military Cross.
His parents, Mal and April, paid the following tribute: "We are immensely proud of Mike - he was everything that we could ever have wanted in a son and was a devoted father to Connor, Chloe and Courtney.
"He was always positive, and always seemed larger than life. Words simply cannot express what he meant to his close and wider family and his many friends. His passing has left a huge void in all our lives that can never be filled.
"We can only take solace in the fact that he died doing a job that he was born to do with his 'boys' in 2 Mercian Regiment."
Major Ed Gaffney, from the Second Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters), added: "Sergeant Lockett MC was quite simply the best soldier I have ever worked with.
"He was immensely brave, talented and hugely committed to his soldiers. They in turn were completely devoted to him.
"On numerous occasions during our tour his actions saved the lives of members of the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team and the Afghan National Army. His tragic death is a huge loss to the soldiers in the team and the Battalion. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family."
Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth also paid tribute to Sergeant Lockett.
"His gallantry is not only demonstrated by the fact he held the Military Cross for previous brave actions, but also by the manner in which he died, investigating the find of an improvised explosive device in an effort to save the lives of others," he said.