Lieutenant Paul Mervis was killed in an explosion in Afghanistan, while on foot patrol with the British forces in northern Helmand.

The 27-year-old Londoner was one of the first officers commissioned into 2nd Battalion The Rifles in 2007. The Ministry of Defence said “it was typical of the man that he led from the front in one of Afghanistan’s most demanding and dangerous districts”.

His family said he was “a wonderful loving son, brother and friend, generous and thoughtful with an infectious sense of fun. Paul was killed doing the job he chose and loved.

“He had read widely about Afghanistan and went with a genuine desire to help bring enough stability to enable reconstruction to follow.”