Prince Charles speaks of friend's 'heartbreaking' death

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 22:20

TRIBUTES to the most senior British officer to be killed since the Falklands War have flooded in from the highest levels.

The Prince of Wales yesterday spoke of the "heartbreaking" death of Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe in Afghanistan, while Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he knew and "admired" him.

Lt Col Thorneloe, commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in a blast which hit his Viking armoured vehicle near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, on Wednesday. It also killed troop-er Joshua Hammond, 18, of 2nd Royal Tank Regiment.

Prince Charles, who is colonel-in-chief of Lt Col Thorneloe's regiment and knew the officer, paid tribute during a visit to Cornwall. He said he had been "mortified" on hearing of the deaths.

"I was horrified to say the least about both deaths, Trooper Hammond as well," he said.

"Having been to visit the Welsh Guards at Aldershot before they left to go to Afghanistan, having met the families and having met Col Rupert's wife, my heart is very much with them. It's completely heartbreaking. The whole battalion is suffering.

"To lose a commanding officer who was such an inspiring person is an awful tragedy."

Gordon Brown, speaking on a visit to Manchester, said: "I think the whole country will be mourning today the deaths of Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe and Trooper Joshua Hammond. They were very professional soldiers, they were serving in Afghanistan in the most difficult terrain. Lt Col Thorneloe was someone I know, someone I worked with, someone I admired."