Ministry of Defence names bomb disposal expert killed in Afghanistan

A bomb disposal expert who died while clearing improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan was named as Staff Sergeant George Linley today. The 29-year-old, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps, was killed in an operation in the Nahr-e-Saraj district of Helmand province on Saturday. He was the fourth British serviceman to be killed in Afghanistan in the space of 24 hours. The Ministry of Defence said Linley's actions had saved many lives, Afghan and British, in dozens of operations across Helmand. Lieutenant Colonel David Southall, the commanding officer of the counter-improvised explosive device (IED) taskforce, described Linley as a "meticulous professional" who was "motivated by a simple desire to save life and play his part in Afghanistan". "Brett faced the IED threat daily but, despite the risk, his heroism was without fuss or fanfare ... such quiet and unassuming modesty endeared him to all," Lt Col Southall said. "Brett leaves behind his partner and parents, whose grief we share. In this confused and turbulent world, I will miss his measured voice of reason and clarity of thought. It leaves a void we struggle to fill." Linley, from Birmingham, enlisted into the Royal Logistics Corps in March 2001 and qualified as an ammunition technician in September 2002. He undertook three separate tours of duty in Northern Ireland, perfecting his bomb disposal skills, before qualifying as a high-threat IED operator in March and being deployed to Afghanistan. The Birmingham City fan was valued for his "bubbly and wicked sense of humour" as well as his courage in the field. Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Strickland, the commanding officer of 1st Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles battlegroup, combined forces Nahr-e-Saraj (south), described Linley as a "true hero" and recalled an occasion on which he had demonstrated his bravery. "After a soldier had been killed in an IED strike, Staff Sergeant Linley went forward to clear the area so that the soldier's personal effects could be recovered," he said. "I sat 50 metres away as the sun dipped in the sky, watching his lone figure edging down a wood line, step by painstaking step. In the space of an hour, on his own, he found three more IEDs. "There was no fanfare – he simply dealt with each device, and then silently moved on to the next." The three other servicemen killed in a 24-hour period on Friday and Saturday were named yesterday as Marine Jonathan Crookes, 26, of 40 Commando Royal Marines, Senior Aircraftman Kinikki Griffiths, and Sergeant David Monkhouse, 35, of the Royal Dragoon Guards.