A YOUNG Huddersfield soldier killed alongside five comrades in Afghanistan reassured his mother he would be "fine" weeks before his death.

Private Anthony Frampton, 20, from Longwood, wrote comforting messages to his worried family after he was deployed to Helmand Province on Valentine’s Day.

But the former Royds Hall High School pupil  was one of six troops who died when their Warrior armoured vehicle was hit by an apparent improvised explosive device (IED) in the deadliest single enemy attack on UK forces in Afghanistan since 2001.

Pte Frampton was killed along with Corporal Jake Hartley, 20, and  Private Christopher Kershaw, 19, Private Daniel Wade, 20, and Private Daniel Wilford, 21, all of 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment, and Sergeant Nigel Coupe, 33, of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

Pte Wilford and Cpl Hartley were also from our area.

Pte Wilford was from Cowlersley and Cpl Hartley, a former Earlsheaton High School pupil, joined the army at the recruiting office in Huddersfield.

The soldiers, who had only been in Afghanistan for a few weeks, were hit by a blast about 25 miles north of Helmand’s capital, Lashkar Gah, at 6.30pm local time (2pm UK time) on Tuesday.

Ammunition on board the Warrior ignited, causing a fierce fire to burn for many hours.

The intensity of the blaze meant rescuers could not get near the vehicle and its charred shell was not recovered to the main British base in Helmand, Camp Bastion, until 7.30pm last night local time.

At the family home of Pte Wade, in Warrington, Cheshire, relatives tied balloons and floral tributes to the garden fence.

A note with four roses from the young soldier's mother read: "Daniel my baby boy, my hero. I will always love you and you have made me the proudest mum in the world.

"RIP son, you are with Nanna and your Dad now, my angels. Love mum x x."

In a series of phone calls and Facebook messages, Pte Frampton sought to allay the fears of his mother, Margaret Charlesworth, during his deployment.

On the day he set off for Afghanistan, he wrote: "I'll be fine mum trust me xxxx."

A week later, he added: "Hey mum hope u r OK am missing u so much can't wait to come home and have only been here 7 days lol (laugh out loud) try not 2 worry mum love you so much! xxxxxxxx."

His mother used her Facebook page to express her concerns for her "little Afghan hero", poignantly writing on February 26: "Hope my boy stays safe and the rest of the lads out there."

Pte Frampton was a student at Royds Hall High School leaving in 2007.



Headteacher Melanie Williams said he was "fondly remembered" by staff as a "memorable young man with a strong character and a real sense of humour".

"Friendly and polite, he was also caring and compassionate towards other students," she said.

"Anthony will always be remembered by the school community with pride and we extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends."

Cpl Hartley was a student at Earlsheaton Technology College in Dewsbury.

Head Paul Levey said: "Jake is remembered in school as a vibrant, lively, unassuming, good-natured and very determined boy.

"He had a distinct sense of responsibility to other people. He is a credit to his family and our thoughts go out to them and his friends at this awful time."

Mehboob Khan, leader of Kirklees Council, said: "This is a desperately sad day for our town.

"These deaths bring it very close to home in Huddersfield and Dewsbury the bravery of our troops and it is something we must never forget.

"My heart goes out to the families and friends of those killed. They were young men doing an enormously brave job. It is tragic beyond belief that so many have died in one incident."

The MoD said it did not plan to release further information about the six soldiers until they have been formally named.

It is understood that this could take days because experts are having to use DNA techniques to confirm their identities.

The tragedy was the biggest single loss of life for British forces in Afghanistan since an RAF Nimrod crash killed 14 people in September 2006.

It took the number of UK troops who have died since the Afghan campaign began in 2001 to 404.