Family praise officer killed in Afghanistan 'doing what he loved'

Lieutenant Paul Mervis, 27, a platoon commander with 2nd Battalion The Rifles, died on Friday in an explosion near Sangin in Helmand Province.

The 27-year-old, from Kensington, was leading his men through an area known to be littered with explosives.

Lt Mervis, who had been in the country since March, was due to leave the frontline next month to train infantry men in Catterick, north Yorkshire. His father, Jonathan Mervis, 66, today praised his dedication.

He said: "Paul was killed in a situation where they expected to find explosives and he was leading from the front, as he would have done. He was the one who caught it. It was a planned operation. It required risk and he took it up front.

"His men were everything. He could not wait to go to Afghanistan. He would never have a City job. He was a thinker. He was quite unconventional, a non-conformist, and in the Army that actually stood him in quite good stead."

A keen rock-climber and diver, Lt Mervis was educated at King's College Wimbledon. He spent a gap year in China and Israel before studying philosophy at University College London.

He joined the Army in April 2007 and was posted to Kosovo before arriving in Afghanistan in March this year.

His mother, Margaret Mervis, 59, said: "He had a great sense of adventure. He was highly intelligent and a passionate collector of books. He really felt that the British Army improved situations. It was definitely a vocation.

"It is very hard for us because he was going to be back in three weeks. But he loved what he was doing. That is the one real comfort we have got."

Lt Mervis' death came just 10 days after one of his platoon members, Rifleman Cyrus Thatcher, was killed by an explosion in Afghanistan.

Jack Mervis, 22 and elder sister Hannah
Mervis, 29, paid tribute to their brother.

Ms Mervis said: "He really was an exceptional man. He was an intellectual soldier.

"He read literature and history, and so much about Afghanistan. He really believed in what he was doing — it was a genuine belief that it was to improve the region.

"He was a great brother in terms of advice and support, and I know that empathy would have come across in the way he dealt with the Afghans."

Her brother said: "He had a huge amount of love for friends and family, and was absolutely dedicated to his men."

Lt Mervis' death took the number of British service personnel who have died in Afghanistan since the start of operations in October 2001 to 168.

Lieutenant Colonel Rob Thomson,
Lt Mervis' commanding officer, said: "There was no more committed officer in the Rifles and the Riflemen adored being under his command."