Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2006, Lance Corporal Dennis Brady, Royal Army Medical Corps, died as a result of wounds received from a mortar round at his base in Northern Basra in Iraq.

He was a Royal Army Medical Corps Regular Reservist attached to the 1st Battalion, the Light Infantry. He had left the regular army in 2004, having served in Kosovo and Iraq; then volunteered for and passed the airborne forces arduous selection course, and trained as an Army Physical Training Instructor. On returning to the army he was first deployed to Afghanistan with the Royal Gurkha Rifles, and he is known to have won the absolute trust and admiration of the Gurkhas, something which is apparently quite rare. He is remembered as being enthusiastically professional, remarkably fit and ever-cheerful.

Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Bowron said: “In the short time he had been with us he had become a full and trusted member of the Battalion, admired by all he met and with that rare gift of universal popularity. He will be remembered for his calm and unflappable nature whatever the circumstance. This approach, coupled with a high level of medical competence, allowed the soldiers of D Company to carry out their duties secure in the knowledge that if the worst was to happen they were in safe hands. His loss will be keenly felt, and the Battalion has lost a trusted member and a real friend. Lance Corporal Brady was armed with a dry sense of humour, always ready with a barrage of friendly banter, as well as always being prepared to offer brutally honest advice regardless of the recipient’s rank - advice that was nearly always correct. This slightly gruff exterior masked a deep concern for his fellow soldiers and an abiding loyalty to his adopted military home. He had a real and positive impact on those with whom he worked and his passing will leave a gap in all our hearts.”

Dennis, from Barrow-in-Furness, was 37 years old and married.