Shropshire soldier killed in Afghanistan named

A Shropshire soldier who was killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan was today named as Lance Corporal Stephen McKee.

The 27-year-old from the 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, based at Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, was in Helmand when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device on Wednesday.

He went to Afghanistan at the end of January. On the day of his death he was taking part in a cordon and search of a small village.

Lance Corporal McKee, from County Down, Northern Ireland, leaves his wife Carley, his parents Heather and Bobby, his brothers Michael, Gareth and Robert and his sisters Kelly and Rebecca.

He had strong family ties to the regiment — two brothers, a cousin and his father-in-law all serving in the 1st Battalion, and another brother in the 2nd Battalion.

Lieutenant Colonel Colin Weir, Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, said his death had "sent a wave of shock and sadness".

"Everyone knows the McKees. Everyone respects the McKees. The McKees are in the 1st Battalion and the McKees are in the 2nd Battalion," he said.

"It is families like the McKees that make this regiment what it is. They are the fibre that runs through us and what gives us our fighting spirit. It is because of families like the McKees that we are the winners in this fight."

He also described Lance Corporal McKee as "the finest" of men.

"He was irrepressible, he was utterly reliable and a fearsome warrior," he said.