Widow mourns 'perfectionist' Marine killed in Afghan blast

Corporal Stephen Curley, 26, who was born in Dewsbury and served with 40 Commando Royal Marines, died while on foot patrol in Helmand on Wednesday.

He was married to wife Kirianne and had a five-month-old son called William.

His widow said: "It is impossible for me to express what my husband meant to me. He was daddy to our 18-week-old son William and my partner in crime. Stevie was my purpose, what makes me tick.

"A man of few but powerful words when it mattered, he lived by the motto, If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room. This will be forever imprinted on our hearts.

"Stevie was a perfectionist – he prided himself on being the best and the best he was.

"He loved to make people laugh and laugh with them.

"Stevie was a quietly proud man, proud to be a Royal Marine, proud to be my husband and proud to be a daddy."

Cpl Curley lived with his family in Exeter, Devon.

He had previously served in Iraq and on another tour of Afghanistan in 2006 before returning there in March, according to the Ministry of Defence.

A keen runner and climber with a taste for cold weather warfare, Cpl Curley qualified as a mountain leader in April 2009 following an arduous nine-month course.

The commanding officer of 40 Commando Group, Combined Force Sangin, Lt Col Paul James, said: "Cpl Stephen Curley was the very best of his generation; bright, fit, charismatic and supremely brave, he was a man who genuinely inspired others.

"I saw in him a selfless, loyal, utterly dedicated and natural leader of men.

"As a Marine he was professionally unrivalled – a mountain leader, a consummate tactician and a brilliant section commander who cared passionately for his men."

The officer commanding Charlie Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, Major Ed Moorhouse, Maj Ed Moorhouse, said Cpl Curley was "irreplaceable".

"He was the most consummate of all-round professionals and a man who I can proudly say that I have had the immense privilege to have commanded and worked alongside," he said.

Troop sergeant Danny "Smudger" Smith of 7 Troop, Charlie Company, said Cpl Curley was someone to look to for advice.

He said: "As a troop sergeant, you are expected to be the man the guys look to for advice, so why did I always find myself looking to Steve?

"Steve was unbelievably good at what he did and without fail he always managed to make the right choice.

"The tragic loss of our closest brother has left an immense hole in a very tight troop."

L/Cpl Luke Metcalfe, section second-in-command, added: "Steve was someone I looked up to through his professionalism, the way he dealt with situations and just his general jokey character.

"There is now a massive gap in 7 Troop, as a section commander and a friend.

"Even though for much of the time you could just hear his ridiculous northern accent and jokes, he always made sense to me and I learnt from him continuously."

Cpl Curley died on the same day that another British soldier lost his life in a separate incident.

Colleagues of Gunner Zak Cusack, 20, yesterday described him as "friend in a million" after he was gunned down in a firefight with the Taliban in Helmand province.

Gunner Cusack, of 4th Regiment Royal Artillery and from Stoke on Trent, died of a gunshot wound.

His family released a statement reading: "Zak was a courageous, compassionate and charismatic young man. We are justly proud of not only the job that he did, but of the complete person we all knew and loved.

"For such a young man, Zak's infectious sense of humour, appetite for life and truly romantic heart inspired so many others.

"Zak's loss leaves a hole in our hearts, a chasm in our lives and many, many other broken hearts behind. He had a fire in his soul that will burn brightly in all our memories."

Coroner urges better anti-bomb robots

The Ministry of Defence should develop better remote-controlled robots to reduce the "unacceptable level of fatalities" among bomb disposal experts in Afghanistan, a coroner said yesterday.

Speaking at the conclusion of an inquest into the death of Captain Daniel Shepherd, coroner Stuart Fisher said more work was needed to develop the robots.

The inquest in Lincoln heard the 28-year-old bomb disposal officer was killed in Helmand province in July last year as he tried to defuse a roadside device by hand.

Capt Shepherd chose not to take a robot with him and the hearing was told that in many cases they were more likely to detonate devices than make them safe.

Recording a verdict of unlawful killing, Mr Fisher said: "It seems to me to be crucially important that wherever possible those working in this extremely dangerous area should seek to use remote-controlled devices.

"I would encourage the MoD to expedite the development of remote-controlled devices to reduce the currently unacceptable level of fatalities amongst those who carry out this unenviable and highly courageous task."

Had Capt Shepherd used a robot he could have caused an explosion closer to his men after activating a second bomb which, it turned out, was faulty.