Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2010, Lance Corporal Tom Keogh, 4th Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in Afghanistan. He was shot during a small arms engagement in Patrol Base Bariolai.

Lance Corporal Keogh had joined the army in 2003 and served in Iraq on Operation TELIC 10. In 2008 he took a year’s break, rejoining in 2009 and completing a potential Junior Non-Commissioned Officer cadre, at which he gained the coveted top student award. Comrades remember his strength of character, determination, intelligence and natural charm.

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Jones said of him: “It is sometimes tempting to get carried away in extolling the virtues of the fallen, but with Lance Corporal Tom Keogh there is no danger of drifting towards exaggeration. He was quite simply one of the very best soldiers in the battalion - a natural soldier who just got it. Highly fit, dynamic, and extremely professional, but always there for those less capable and experienced than him. The younger lads were drawn to him by his example and kindness. He was a genuine role model to them and they aspired to his standards. Those that were touched by him will never forget him.”

Tom, from Paddington, was 24 years old.