Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2010, Rifleman Martin Kinggett from A Company, 4th Battalion The Rifles (4 RIFLES), part of the 3 RIFLES Battle Group, was killed in Afghanistan. He was on a routine foot patrol in Sangin, during which he and his comrades came under fire, and it was during the evacuation of an injured colleague and Rifleman Kinggett was shot and killed. He had joined the Army in 2007, left for a short while, then re-enlisted in 2009. He attended the Combat Infantryman’s Course, then deployed to Afghanistan with A Company in October of 2009 as a dismounted on Op HERRICK 11, as part of the 3 RIFLES Battle Group.

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Jones said: “Rifleman Kinggett was nothing if not a character and his friends loved him for it…..everything he did was good-natured and conducted with integrity. Like the best Riflemen, he had plenty of edge and he liked to operate on a long leash. He was a young man that his mates could absolutely rely on. Indeed, through training, he was the man that others naturally went to for assistance. He had a very good heart and was deeply loyal to his friends; loyalty that was repaid without question. As so often happens, it was in Afghanistan that he really found his calling. His strength of character and values proved a rock to those around him. His brother Riflemen drew strength and comfort from his confidence. He was fearless as the lead man in his section, clearing the ground for those that followed. There are few lonelier jobs and it requires inner steel and calm maturity. Rifleman Kinggett took this in his stride. He was proud to be a Rifleman. The regiment excels because of young men like him and he was a true Rifleman - highly professional, with no shortage of attitude, but always steadfast. It is typical of him that he fell giving covering fire while his comrades extracted a seriously injured friend in contact.”

Martin, from Dagenham, was 19 years old.