An inquest has decided a Warwick soldier was killed by a single bullet in Afghanistan.
22-year old Private Conrad Lewis – who was part of 4th Battalion, the Parachute Regiment – was shot as he carried out a foot patrol in the Nad ‘Ali district of Helmand Province on 9th February this year.
Another paratrooper - Private Lewis Hendry – was also hit and despite a helicopter being scrambled, both men died of their injuries.
A post-mortem showed it was highly unlikely Private Lewis would have survived his injury and coroner David Ridley ruled he and Private Hendry had been unlawfully killed while on active service.
Speaking at the time of the tragedy, Private Lewis’ said: “Conrad was an outstanding young man, with a character the depth of which you only truly find out in these sad circumstances. He was a warm-hearted, funny, kind, loving, handsome and clearly a brave young man.
“It is a cliché to say that everyone loved him, but they did, from people of his own generation to adults of all generations. If you met Conrad you were touched by him and he made you feel good about life. He had a smile that literally could light up a room, change your mood for the day, and a hug that made you feel loved and safe, which he never shied away from giving, regardless of the time, place or audience.
“He wanted to be a soldier – he wanted to be a Para – and he served the regiment and his nation with the spirit and vigour that he approached everything in life, full on and without fear or restraint.”
His Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel John Boyd, said: “If there’s anything that’s Conrad’s death has left us, it’s with a legacy of a fantastic young man who lit up a room, who was larger-than-life and who was never afraid of a challenge.”
Section Commander Dean Walton added: “For someone who hadn’t been in the Army that long, people who saw him thought he’d been there for years.”
“For someone like Con, he was a natural, but he never let that go to his head – he’d always make sure he could help everyone else as much as possible.”
As well as his family, Private Lewis is survived by his girlfriend of 3 years, George.
Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2011 1:31 am