Repatriation of Midland soldier from Afghanistan

This evening I was given the rare privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) for the repatriation ceremony of Lance Corporal Kieron Hill at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan.
On May 28 he died, aged 20, as the result of an explosion that happened whilst he was on a patrol near Garmsir in Helmand Province.
Out of respect to his family, and his regiment, the ceremony is not reported in newspapers.
At around midnight, L/Cpl Hill's comrades lined up as his Union Jack-draped coffin was marched into a C17 military aircraft to be flown back to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.
It will be received at the miltary base in the morning before being taken through Wootton Basset, where it has now become tradition for townsfolk to line the streets to pay their tributes to fallen soldiers.
The ceremony at Camp Bastion was the army's way of saying a poignant and emotional goodbye to one of their own.
A sIngle bugler played the Last Post before L/Cpl Hill's casket was carried onto the aircraft by his comarades, led by the Padre.
The ceremony was one of the most moving I have ever had the unfortunate duty to report on.
The number of British service personnel who have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 stands at 163. Ten died in May.