Sergeant Michael Christopher Lockett (11 June 1980 – 21 September 2009) was a British soldier, killed in action in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

aged 29. In June 2008 Lockett was presented with the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, for his efforts in an attempt to recover the bodies of Pte. Johan Botha and Sgt. Craig Brelsford, as well as successfully rescuing four other injured soldiers. In September 2009, an

improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional warfare, conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached t ...

which he was investigating exploded, injuring Lockett and two other soldiers. Lockett died before he reached hospital. He is the first soldier to die on operations who has been awarded the Military Cross since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life

Lockett studied at Longcroft School in

Beverley Beverley is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

, in 1996, he joined the 1st Battalion of the

Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) (abbreviated as ''WFR'') was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. The regiment served as the county regiment for Derbyshire, Nottingha ...

stationed at

Tidworth Camp Tidworth Camp is a military installation at Tidworth in Wiltshire, England. It forms part of the Tidworth, Netheravon and Bulford (TidNBul) Garrison. History The Camp was established when the War Office acquired a 19th-century mansion – Te ...

, Wiltshire and spent the majority of his military career as a machine gunner. He was a qualified Jungle Warfare and Military Tracking Instructor.

Military Cross

While fighting in

during Operation Herrick VI in September 2007, Lockett, then a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

, and the rest of his unit, were commanded to penetrate enemy lines, and ruin their posts. The soldiers dubbed the mission 'Operation Certain Death', but carried it out nonetheless. However, they were ambushed by

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

troops. The ambush caused the death of Private Johan Botha and Sergeant Craig Brelsford, as well as inflicting injuries on four other soldiers. Michael led the remaining soldiers in an attempt to retrieve the bodies, and rescue the four injured soldiers. For his "leadership, command, control and supreme courage", Lockett was awarded the Military Cross on 7 March 2008, which he later received from

Death

At the time of his death on 21 September 2009, Lockett was working with the

Afghan National Army The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the army, land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when th ...

, at Patrol Base Sandford. He had volunteered to stay at the base because new soldiers were due to arrive, and he wanted to ensure they knew as much about the local area as possible. He was investigating an

, when it detonated, killing him, and injuring two nearby soldiers. As well as being the 217th British soldier to die in Afghanistan since October 2001, he is the first soldier who has been awarded the Military Cross to later die there.

Memorial and tribute

Lockett's body was flown back to Britain on 29 September, where hundreds filled the streets to pay tribute to him. Lockett's school friends Kate Atkinson, Rochelle Booth, Kelly Jackson and Rebecca Knowles started up The Lockett Fund, which has raised hundreds of pounds for the charity

Help for Heroes Help for Heroes is a British charity which supports members of the British Armed Forces community with their physical and mental health, as well as their financial, social and welfare needs. The charity was founded in 2007 by Bryn and Emma Parry ...

Personal life

Lockett, known as "Locky" to his comrades, was the father of three and was in a relationship with Belinda English.

References

External links

"Each time I met Locky, I admired him more. Brave, proud, funny … fallen"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 22 September 2009.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockett, Michael 2009 deaths British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) British military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Deaths by improvised explosive device in Afghanistan Mercian Regiment soldiers Military personnel from Aldershot Recipients of the Military Cross Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment soldiers 1980 births