Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2010, Sapper Guy Mellors from 36 Engineer Regiment was killed in an explosion near Patrol Base Ezaray to the north east of Sangin district centre.

He had been engaged in IED clearance operations in support of A Company, 3rd Battalion The Rifles.

Sapper Mellors had enlisted in 2006, and trained as a searcher in a Royal Engineers Advanced Search Team - responsible for the detection of IEDs in high-risk areas. He became an experienced and highly regarded searcher, and was first in line for a JNCO cadre on his return to the U.K., but sadly he did not make it home. The tributes paid to him refer to his inestimable ability as a researcher, his "zest for life, quick wit and impish personality," his maturity, and the fact that he was a gifted and fine soldier.

Lieutenant Colonel Simon Hulme said: “In Sapper Mellors we had a Sapper of real talent. Extremely fit, enthusiastic, and with a dogged determination to make the most of every opportunity that presented itself, he rapidly established his credentials as a positive force and outgoing character amongst his peer group. Blessed with a zest for life, a quick wit and impish personality, he could always raise a smile, even in the most arduous circumstances - he laughed at others but was just as comfortable laughing at himself. His contribution to both operational preparation and to local community tasks was, as one would expect of a man of this capability, simply outstanding. He was a soldier who had a broad and successful career ahead of him; marked out as ‘gifted’ on his artisan trade courses, sportingly adept, and if he had not been on operations he would have been attending the forthcoming promotion course. He will be sorely missed by his many friends and colleagues within both the regiment and the Corps.”

Guy, from Coventry, was 20 years old.