Hundreds mourn ‘good lad’ killed by Taliban explosion

The service came as roadside bombings killed three Nato service members in southern Afghanistan. The coalition said one trooper was killed in a blast and two others were killed in a separate explosion.

Lieutenant Daniel Clack, 24, of 1st Battalion The Rifles, was leading a 10-man patrol to meet locals in a village in Helmand Province when he was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) on August 12.

The popular serviceman and University of Exeter graduate was said to have “completely won over” the Afghan villagers, who all spoke of him by name, the mourners at St Paul’s Church in Woodford Green, Essex, were told.

Defence Secretary Liam Fox, whose constituency secretary Amy Tinley was engaged to be married to Lt Clack, joined the congregation.

The mourners were so numerous they could not fit into the old church and spilled out into the grounds and street. Up to 150 of Lt Clack’s comrades from The Rifles were present, and other friends of his had travelled from as far as Australia to pay their respects.

L/Colonel James de Labilliere, Commanding Officer 1 Rifles, described the young soldier as “quite simply the heart and soul of the battalion”.

Delivering a eulogy at the service, he said: “He was, like many officers of his generation, completely committed to his riflemen and to achieving success on the battlefield.

“His platoon quite evidently adored him.”

He was also a man blessed with “complete integrity” who was referred to by one of his comrades as “the ultimate good lad,” he added.

A north Londoner who was privately educated in Woodford Green, he leaves his mother Sue, father Martin, and brother James, as well as his fiancée.

Standard bearers from the local Royal British Legion branch lined the path to the church, while local children stood nearby clutching white carnations.