British Army Lance Corporal Duane Groom

British Army Lance Corporal Duane Groom, from Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, was killed in action when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province 14th September 2012. 

Born on 7 April 1980 in Suva City, Fiji, Lance Corporal Groom joined the British Army in 2007. Having completed the Combat Infantryman's Course at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick, he moved to Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards, where he participated in public duties and ceremonial tasks at the royal palaces. 

Two years later he joined the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, participating in an overseas training exercise in Kenya before deploying to Afghanistan in September 2009 with the Queen's Company. 

Upon his return he made full use of his time, taking part in the Infantry Skiing Championships in early 2011 and attending a Junior Non-Commissioned Officer's cadre in January 2012. Newly-promoted, he deployed to Afghanistan for his second tour of duty in April this year as a member of the Operations Company in Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (North). 

"He was the consummate professional; diligent, hardworking and unflinching in the face of any danger," is how Major Piers Ashfield, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, described Lance-Corporal Groom.