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An inquest into the death of a British soldier whose armoured vehicle hit an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan is to be held.
Lance Corporal Stephen McKee, 27, was serving with 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment when he died in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province on March 9.
His younger brother Michael, serving with the same regiment, was one of the first on the scene after the explosion.
L/Cpl McKee, from Banbridge, Co Down, Northern Ireland, had strong family connections with the regiment. As well as his brother, his cousin and father-in-law also serve in the 1st Battalion, with another brother serving in the 2nd Battalion.
He leaves behind his wife Carley, his parents Heather and Bobby, his brothers Michael, Gareth and Robert, and his sisters Kelly and Rebecca.
L/Cpl McKee and his wife tragically lost their two-year-old daughter a year before his death. His widow said he would always be her hero and described him as "the best husband, father, son and brother anyone could ask for".
L/Cpl McKee was on an operation to disrupt insurgent activity in the northern Dashte area of Nad 'Ali district when his vehicle struck the device.
L/Cpl McKee joined the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment, as a part-time soldier in 2003. He transferred to the 1st Battalion, based in Tern Hill, Shropshire, in 2007, where he was posted to B Company, before moving to the Machine Gun Platoon in D Company early last year.
L/Cpl McKee is the second member of his family to die in the line of duty. His uncle, Richard, a member of the UDR (Ulster Defence Regiment), was murdered by the IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles in 1981.
The inquest will be held at Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner's Court in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
