Welsh Guards return from Afghanistan
Updated on 07 October 2009
Friends and family have welcomed the Aldershot-based Welsh Guards home after their time serving in Afghanistanâs dangerous Helmand province.
They lost their commanding officer on the front line in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe.
Seven soldiers from the 1st battalion lost their lives during their six months duty.
Around 130 personnel from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards met loved ones at their base in Lille Barracks.
Lt Col Thorneloe, a 39-year-old father-of-two died on July 1 when a bomb ripped apart the vehicle he was travelling in.
One other soldier, Trooper Joshua Hammond, 18, was also killed at the same time.
Lt Col Thorneloe was the most senior British officer killed in action since Colonel "H" Jones, commanding officer of the 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment, died at Goose Green in the Falklands in 1982.
