01 June 2007

MoD names soldier killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the name of the soldier who died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on Wednesday as Corporal Mike Gilyeat from the Royal Military Police.

Cpl Gilyeat, 28, died when the American Chinook helicopter he was travelling in crashed in the Kajaki area of northern Helmand in southern Afghanistan.

His Canadian colleague, Master Corporal Darrell Priede, 30, died in the crash as did the five American crew.

Cpl Gilyeat, known as 'Gilly', was a photographer attached to the Media Operations team based at Regional Command (South) in Kandahar.

He had been on board the helicopter in order to film the insertion of American troops as part of a wider piece he was producing on a major alliance operation around Kajaki.

Cpl Gilyeat was born in Hanover, Germany and joined the army in August 2002. He previously served in Iraq and had, more recently, been based in Lisburn in Northern Ireland.

He had volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan, the MoD said, "motivated by a desire to make a difference and to diversify into news photography".

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Smith, his commanding officer in Regional Command (South), said: "Cpl Gilyeat was a gifted and enthusiastic member of the team who had made a real difference in the time he had been in theatre. He was an eternally cheerful character who was always quick to lend a hand wherever it was needed and did so without complaint.

"Despite being an experienced and proud Military Policeman, he was thriving in his first employment as a news photographer. He showed great flare and promise and had already produced several powerful images."

(KMcA/SP)