Afghan helicopter crash victim named
Corporal Mike Gilyeat was a military photographer
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Friday, 01, Jun 2007 09:38
The British soldier who died when an American Chinook helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan earlier this week has been named as Corporal Mike Gilyeat by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Cpl Gilyeat, 28, of the Royal Military police, had been attached to the media operations team as a photographer in neighbouring Kandahar when the crash, thought to be due to a Taliban rocket, occurred in Kajaki, northern Helmand province.
Five US soldiers and 30-year-old Canadian Master Corporal Darrell Priede, who like Cpl Gilyeat was a photographer, also died when the helicopter went down.
Cpl Gilyeat, who was born in Dresden, Germany, had been producing a piece on US troop deployment at the time of his death.
He had been in the army since August 2002 after following in his father's footsteps and had previously served in Iraq.
His commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Mike Smith described the corporal as a "gifted and enthusiastic member of the team".
"Despite being an experienced and proud military policeman he was thriving in his first employment as a news photographer. He showed great flare and promise and had already produced several powerful images," he said.
"In the six weeks he had been in theatre, he had struck up a close friendship with his fellow photographer Master Corporal Priede, with whom he enjoyed a constant stream of banter, usually centred on their friendly competitiveness over pictures."
Lt Col Smith went on to say that the media operations team missed both men's "infectious enthusiasm, consummated professionalism and unwavering good humour".
Commenting on Wednesday's helicopter crash Defence secretary Des Browne added: "It was with great sadness that I learnt of the death of Corporal Gilyeat alongside one Canadian and five US soldiers in Afghanistan.
"He was a talented, dedicated soldier and photographer, and his spirit will be greatly missed amongst those who knew him. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of all those who died."