It is with very deep regret that the Ministry of Defence has to confirm that Sergeant Simon Alexander Hamilton-Jewell was killed in action in southern Iraq on 24 June whilst serving with 156 Provost Company, Royal Military Police. Aged 41, he came from Chessington in Surrey, and was single.

Sergeant Hamilton-Jewell was known to his friends as 'HJ'. The Platoon Sergeant of the Parachute Provost Platoon, he joined the Army in August 1988 and joined 156 Provost Company in March 2002. He had previously served as a soldier in the Territorial Army from 1979 to 1988. He had served in Germany and the UK, and on operations in Northern Ireland, Sarajevo and Sudan, as well as on exercise in Kenya, Poland and France. As well as being a trained military parachutist, Simon Hamilton-Jewell was a qualified HGV driving instructor, and practised martial arts.

His mother, Teresa, and brother, Tony, said of him:

"A nod, a wink or a smile; one hundred per cent human being, dedicated to life in full. He was a man keen to help anybody; a fearless man, biker, hiker and climber. But above all, a man dedicated to the Army, his Regiment, his unit and to his comrades. He gave twenty years of service defending others, in so many locations and was a selfless, ultra-fit man to the last. A son and brother beyond belief, 'H-J', 'Hammy' or Simon all meant the same - a top man, friend and soldier. A man's man, and a soldier's soldier. He was a very human person who will be dearly missed for the rest of our lives. For a soldier never afraid to do his duty - we love and miss you. God bless.

"In our own grief at the loss of Simon, we are also remembering his colleagues who died with him, and offer our sympathy and condolences to their families and friends.

"We are both very grateful for the dedicated and caring support that so many ranks and agencies of the Army have given to us and the rest of Simon's direct family, without which managing would have been so much harder.

"Although we appreciate that the many people from the media who have come to our home mean only to tell Simon's story, we would ask that, following what we have said here, we are now left to grieve in peace and in our own way."

Sergeant Hamilton-Jewell's funeral was held in Aldershot on 21 July.

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