This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7360854.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Soldier killed by mine is named | Soldier killed by mine is named |
| (41 minutes later) | |
| A soldier killed in Afghanistan on Monday has been named by the Ministry of Defence as 22-year-old Trooper Robert Pearson. | A soldier killed in Afghanistan on Monday has been named by the Ministry of Defence as 22-year-old Trooper Robert Pearson. |
| He died after a suspected mine strike on his vehicle in Helmand province. | |
| Another soldier who was hurt in the blast is still receiving medical treatment for his injuries. | Another soldier who was hurt in the blast is still receiving medical treatment for his injuries. |
| Trooper Pearson, from Grimsby, had been with the Queen's Royal Lancers Regiment for just over a year. | Trooper Pearson, from Grimsby, had been with the Queen's Royal Lancers Regiment for just over a year. |
| Commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Richard Nixon-Eckersall said Trooper Pearson had "already made a name for himself in his squadron where he was a popular and well-respected individual." | |
| "Trooper Pearson took a keen and professional interest in his job as a formation reconnaissance soldier; his outgoing and confident manner giving a strong indication to his chain of command that he was a talent to watch." | "Trooper Pearson took a keen and professional interest in his job as a formation reconnaissance soldier; his outgoing and confident manner giving a strong indication to his chain of command that he was a talent to watch." |
| Trooper Pearson was part of the Armoured Support Company Royal Marines providing security to a supply convoy when the explosion happened. | |
| They were returning from the town of Gareshk in Helmand to the UK troop base at Camp Bastion when the vehicle hit a suspected mine. | |
| He was taken to a field hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. | |
| Lieutenant Nixon-Eckersall offered his condolences to the soldier's family, saying: "The Lancers have lost a good soldier today but our loss, whilst great, is nothing compared to that felt by his family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time." | |
| Trooper Pearson leaves behind his father Paul, stepmother Gillian, and sisters Terrie, Alex and Alivia. | |
| Corporal Allen of Armoured Support Company explained how Trooper Pearson had earned the nickname "Chesney". | |
| He said: "After he joined he was thrown straight into the thick of the action on an exercise on Salisbury Plain, that's where he got his nickname 'Chesney', due to his likeliness of the Coronation Street character." | |
| "He was a keen bloke who was always the first to volunteer. Pushing for promotion, he was the kind of person you want, and need, in your troop." | |
| Trooper Pearson's death brings the number of UK troops killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 94. |