Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2009, Lance Corporal Stephen Kingscott of 1st Battalion The Rifles died during the assault of an enemy position in the Nawa district of Helmand province.

He had first joined the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and served in Northern Ireland and Iraq before they were amalgamated into 1st Battalion The Rifles; he then served in Belize, the Falkland Islands and Afghanistan. During pre-deployment he was selected for special language training, passing an intensive ten-week Dari course, and in Afghanistan he was employed in the Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team Battle Group, working alongside the Afghan National Army. He is remembered as friendly, dedicated, selfless, and a larger-than-life morale-raiser.

Lieutenant Colonel Joe Cavanagh said: “Lance Corporal Steve Kingscott died from wounds sustained in combat, despite the very best efforts of his fellow Riflemen on the spot - who had to fight to extract him - and the outstanding attempts to save his life by medical staff all the way back from battlefield to Field Hospital. When Steve was hit he and his OMLT company colleagues, together with their Afghan National Army counterparts, were taking the fight to the enemy yet again in the latest of a series of brave and successful missions. The depth of Steve’s previous experience and the speed with which he picked up new skills made him a model Rifleman, no more so than on operations. He was a splendid representative of the Battalion and The Rifles. We are all very proud to have served alongside him. Once a Rifleman, always a Rifleman. Swift and Bold.”

Stephen, from Plymouth, was 22 years old and engaged to be married.