Never forgotten: Commemorating the lives of Chesterfield soldier Private Ben Ford and Private Damian Wright lost in Afghanistan on 16th anniversary of their deaths

The teenage soldier was killed when the Land Rover he was travelling in was targeted by a Taliban roadside bomb on September 5 2007.

Pte Ford, aged just 18 at the time, and Private Damian Wright, 23, a serviceman hailing from Mansfield, were both killed in an explosion.

Both Pte Ford and Pte Wright were members of the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, and were on a routine patrol approximately eight miles north of Lakshar Gah when the devastating incident occurred.

Pte Ford achieved his childhood ambition to join the Amry in July 2005.

After successfully completing his training at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick, he joined the ranks of the 1st Battalion the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. He served with the Queen’s Guard in London before being posted to Afghanistan.

It was his first overseas deployment.

Dad Trevor spoke to the Derbyshire Times at the time and said he was very proud of his son’s work in Afghanistan describing Ben as a ‘hero’.

Mum Jane added: “It is a tragedy, but he believed that what he was doing was right. He was a soldier first and he lost his life for the life he wanted.”