Tributes to bomb disposal officer (From Herald Series)

Tributes to bomb disposal officer

1:35pm Thursday 4th February 2010

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Mourners have paid tribute to a bomb disposal officer killed in Afghanistan just weeks after returning to the front following an injury in a previous explosion.

Captain Daniel Read, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, at Didcot, was killed in a bomb blast in Musa Qaleh, northern Helmand, on January 11.

The 31-year-old was part of a taskforce tackling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and was supporting a battle group when he was killed.

Cpt Read, from Kent, had returned to the front in December after suffering serious shrapnel wounds in an explosion in October.

Major Kier Head, the regiment's acting commanding officer, said: "You can pick up from that the remarkable bravery of the man, that he had seen the horrors of one of his team dying but he wanted to go back out to make sure the rest of his team were okay.

"He was a really remarkable man."

Maj Head accompanied Cpt Read's widow Lorraine to the funeral service at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall. The Very Rev Dr Christopher Hardwick, Dean of Truro, welcomed about 600 mourners with an opening prayer.

Among those attending were Cpt Read's mother Sally Webb, father Leslie Read, fellow servicemen and Devon and Cornwall Police officers, colleagues of his widow who is a serving officer.

Maj Head described Cpt Read as a "soldier's soldier" and said: "It's such a sad day for us. He really was an immense loss to the regiment. He was just desperate to go back and finish his tour. He always wanted to be back out there with his team.

"I suggested to him to spend Christmas with his wife Lou but he wanted to finish his tour. Lou and he were thinking about moving house and creating a family home so he had everything to live for."

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