Thorneloe 'sought to inspire men'

Friday, April 30, 2010

The most senior British army officer to be killed in Afghanistan had taken the top cover position in his Viking armoured vehicle in order to inspire his men, an inquest has heard.

Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, 39, commander of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed on 1 July 2009 when an improvised explosive device detonated to the rear of the vehicle near Lashkar Gah, in Helmand province. Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, was also killed in the blast.

The inquest in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, heard that Lt Col Thorneloe had chosen to take the top position in the vehicle, despite it having been already allocated to another soldier. Sergeant Peter Simmons, of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, said that Lt Col Thorneloe did so to inspire his troops.

"Lt Col Thorneloe was trying to inspire his men, which he was doing," said Sgt Simmons. "Lt Col Thorneloe was professional, he wanted to get up there himself with his rifle."

Major Andrew Speed, second-in-command to Lt Col Thorneloe at the time of the incident, said: "Like all good leaders, Col Rupert wanted to get on the ground. Any good leader wants to get a good feel for what his troops were doing. He was a 'hands-on' guy.

"He wanted to demonstrate that, despite being a commanding officer, he wanted to show his troops he was prepared to do what they were doing, and by showing them that they can be inspired."

Corporal Kevin Williams, of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment said the Vikings had received armour upgrades at the front, but that upgrades to the rear, where the blast that killed Lt Col Thorneloe hit, were not implemented until after Lt Col Thorneloe's death.

Viking armoured vehicles of the type Colonel Thorneloe was travelling in are now being replaced by the Warthog tracked amphibious vehicle.

In a leaked memo, written a month before he died, Lt Col Thorneloe had complained that a shortage of helicopters had forced troops to make administrative journeys by road, increasing the risk of being hit by an improvised explosive device.