Tragic British soldier named

Published on Monday 30 June 2008 19:53

THE latest British soldier to die in Afghanistan has been named as Lance Corporal James Johnson.

The Ministry of Defence said L/Cpl Johnson, 31, was serving with the B Company, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland. His father said he had "loved" being a soldier.

L/Cpl Johnson, who was born in Scotland and grew up in Chatham, Kent, stepped on a Soviet-made mine while on patrol in Lashkar Gar at 11am local time on Saturday.

His death brought the number of British personnel who have died in Afghanistan since 2001 to 110.

Family and friends today paid tribute to the fallen soldier, who had earlier served in Belfast for two years and on one tour of Bosnia in 2005.

His father, Lawrence Johnson, said: "I am very proud of my son for being a soldier. It was his life. He always wanted to be in the Army since he was a small boy. He loved it."

His fiancee, Bernadette Broadley, said: "I am very, very proud of him being a brave soldier. I want him to be remembered for who and what he was."

An MoD spokesman said L/Cpl Johnson had been part of a vehicle checkpoint patrol operating in the Lashkar Gar area.

They were on patrol when they received a report of an rocket-propelled grenade attack on a civilian aircraft at Bost airfield in Lashkar Gar.

It was whilst investigating this incident that a mine, described by the MoD as a 'legacy' anti-personnel mine, was detonated, killing the solider instantly His commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Richmond, said: "L/Cpl Johnson has made the ultimate sacrifice.

"A superb soldier and junior commander, he died doing the job he loved, among men who held him in the highest regard."