By Paul Robinson
Emotional tributes were today paid to a heroic Leeds soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Lance Corporal David Kirkness, a 24-year-old dad from Morley, died trying to stop two Taliban suicide bombers blowing up a busy marketplace.
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He was manning a vehicle checkpoint with his platoon, 3 Rifles Reconnaissance, when the insurgents tried to strike at a bazaar near Sangin in Helmand province.
Rifleman James Brown, 18, from Hampshire, also died in Tuesday's incident, along with two Afghan soldiers.
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Today L/Cpl's Kirkness's parents, Christopher and Margaret, led the praise for their brave son.
In a statement, they said: "If you knew David you had to love him – it was impossible not to.
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"In David's own words 'If you didn't know me, hard luck'. He will always be in our hearts."
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L/Cpl Kirkness's younger brother, Christopher, has posted touching messages about his loss on social networking website Facebook. One, written in 'text speak', says: "There's not a day tht will go by tht i wont think of you love you bro."
The Union flag at Morley Town Hall was yesterday flying at half mast. A Royal British Legion wreath was laid in the town hall entrance and a book of condolence will be available to sign at the building from Monday.
L/Cpl Kirkness, who had a three-year-old daughter, Brooke, joined the Army in 2003.
He completed a sniper training course and studied the local Pashto language before being deployed to Afghanistan in October.
The sports-loving former Morley High School pupil celebrated his birthday last Friday.
Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, commander of 3 Rifles Battle Group, today described him as a "first class leader".
He said: "L/Cpl Kirkness balanced courage and grit with compassion and consideration, winning trust, admiration and friendship wherever he went.
"We take comfort and pride from the fact that he and the soldiers who died with him averted a much larger tragedy."
Major James Richardson, officer commanding B Company 3 Rifles, said: "(L/Cpl Kirkness] was always at the centre of things, not because he craved attention or the limelight, but because people naturally gathered around him, such was his warmth.
"He had a massive heart which was often worn on his sleeve and, perhaps unusually for someone in his profession, was never afraid to show his emotions."
Warrant Officer Class Two Paul Kelly, also from 3 Rifles, "Kirky was a professional young man with a clear career path in which he would have excelled.
"His love for rugby and football was a source of banter within his platoon and he always struck me as a larger-than-life character.
"He will be irreplaceable among his peers and his mates."
A spokesman for Morley High School said news of L/Cpl Kirkness's death
had been "devastating" for staff, adding: "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."
A fellow former pupil at Morley High described David as one of the most handsome and popular boys in her year.
The deaths at Sangin took the number of British service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 239.
Other local victims include Rifleman James Backhouse and Bombardier Craig Hopson, both of Castleford, and Signaller Wayne Bland, from Gipton, Leeds.
Source:yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/
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