Merseyside’s roll of honour: the soldiers who were killed in the Afghan conflict in 2009

Jan 1 2010 by Vicki Kellaway, Liverpool Echo

GRIEVING families across Merseyside today faced the dawn of a new year without the loved ones they lost fighting in Afghanistan.

Seven soldiers from the region, with an average age of just 22, died in 2009 in the bloodiest 12 months the nation has endured since the outbreak of war in 2001.

The British death toll in Afghanistan is now 244 – including 107 deaths in 2009.

Michael “Mick” Laski’s family were devastated when the popular marine died last February.

The 21-year-old, from Croxteth Park, was known for telling his comrades “Scousers are the elite of the world” and his loved ones spoke fondly of his legendary good humour.

Many were with him when he died in hospital in Birmingham 48 hours after being hit by enemy fire in Helmand.

A month later US President Barack Obama promised to send an extra 4,000 troops to the region in a bid to bolster the Afghan army and police.

That lead to Operation Panther’s Claw last summer – the biggest operation the British Army has undertaken in its eight years in Afghanistan.

More than 3,000 British troops joined US and Afghan soldiers to drive the Taliban out of a heavily populated area of the country, north of Lashkar Gah.

The operation, also known as Panchai Palang, led to the deaths of 11 British servicemen, including eight who died in one day.

Guardsman Christopher King, from Birkenhead, was among those killed in the operation. An improvised explosive detonated when he was on foot clearing an area for a vehicle.

His comrades said of the 20-year-old, killed instantly last July, that he was a “fearless soldier” and “ever cheerful friend”. His parents described him as a “tremendous son”.

Five days later a fellow Wirral soldier was killed. Trooper Phillip Lawrence, from Upton, died when his Scimitar tank was caught in an explosion. The ex-Ridgeway High School pupil left a wife, Amy and baby daughter Jessica.

His devastated mum Gaynor told how Trooper Lawrence, 22, was the “man of the house” for her as she raised five sons alone.

She had hoped he would walk her down the aisle at her wedding.