Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2009, Corporal Simon Hornby, from 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was killed in an explosion whilst he was on a foot patrol in the Nad-e-Ali area of central Helmand Province.

Corporal Hornby had joined the army nine years earlier, and in 2008 his success on the Section Commander’s Battle Course saw him promoted. He was considered to have a bright future ahead of him, and after the tour he was due to instruct in a Recruit Training establishment, in which he would have no doubt excelled. He had deployed to Afghanistan as a Section Commander with Arnhem Company as part of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards Battle Group, and was stationed in Patrol Base Shamal Storrai administering the patrol base for his Platoon Commander. He is remembered for not only his tenacity and gritty determination, but also for his courage and sense of humour. His C.O. said of him: "As a Lance Corporal, he was awarded a commendation for services in Iraq for discovering an Improvised Explosive Device and for spoiling an insurgent ambush. In Afghanistan, he had won over the full confidence of Officer Commanding Arnhem Company, as well as his soldiers, and had stepped up to effectively act as a Platoon Sergeant, taking on the administrative challenge brilliantly, yet with the same sense of humour that we all knew and loved. He was a real character. He will be sadly missed. The Lions of England have lost one of their most courageous."

Simon, from Liverpool, was 29 years old and married.