Household Cavalry soldier dies in Afghanistan
A 26-year-old member of the Household Cavalry Regiment was killed in Afghanistan on Friday (26 March).
Lance Corporal of Horse Jonathan Woodgate, of Bury St Edmunds, was serving as part of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Helmand.
He was on foot patrol south of Sangin district centre on Friday afternoon when he was fatally wounded by a grenade thrown from behind a wall.
Described as “a professional through and through” it was his fourth operational tour and he had been in Helmand for six months.
Lieutenant Colonel Harry Fullerton, commanding officer of the Household Cavalry said: “Jo Woodgate was one of our finest soldiers.
“Known affectionately by friends and comrades as Woody he was hugely popular, tremendously capable and a truly consummate professional warrior.”
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A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.