‘Standing on the shoulders of giants’

Commanding Officer Lt Col Ed Fenton, 42, who has 20 years service in the Army, said: “Our mission was a ground-holding one and hand over the security to the Afghans.

“We are very proud of the fact we cleared the area to achieve this. We forged a trust with the Afghans.”

He said they did not meet much hostility from locals as in other areas, where there had been high-profile incidents like the burning of the Koran and friendly fire deaths.

The CO added: “We found that the closer we worked with them, the stronger the bond.

“Our job was about getting the area ready to hand over to the Afghan security forces and we achieved that.

“We worked hand in glove and were also standing on the shoulders of giants, building on the work previously done by 3 Command and the 16 Assault Brigade before us.

“It was about establishing the Afghan lead and getting them to take responsibility. Working with the Afghans was really rewarding. In some instances soldiers were communicating by sign language.

“There were some casualties, but no fatalities.”