A proud father who wanted the women of Afghanistan to enjoy the same freedom as his own daughters has become the oldest British service-man to be killed in the conflict.

Gary Thompson, 51, who was married with five daughters aged between 16 and 24, was a successful businessman running his own company when he decided to join the RAF as a volunteer three years ago. By then, British forces were already serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan and Mr Thompson knew that as a reservist he was highly likely to be mobilised.

When he discovered that he was to be sent to Afghanistan, he relished what he saw as his chance to help to protect the country from a return to the medieval barbarity and misogyny of Taleban rule.

In an interview seven weeks ago, as he prepared to leave his life of comfort in Britain for a scheduled seven-month deployment in southern Afghanistan, Mr Thompson explained why he was so willing to serve.

“I have five daughters, three of whom are at university. I want women in Afghanistan to be given the same opportunity that my daughters have had,” he said. “It means I can come back and say I have played my part in trying to make that happen.”

On Sunday evening, Mr Thompson was killed alongside his colleague, Graham Livingston, 23, when a roadside bomb exploded while they were on patrol in a Land Rover outside the Nato base at Kandahar airfield. The two senior aircraftmen were rushed to a field hospital inside the base but died from their injuries. Two other service-men were injured in the blast.

In a statement yesterday, Mr Thompson’s family – his wife, Jacqui, 51, and their daughters, Laurie, 24, Aimee, 22, Jordan, 20, Jade, 17 and Kelly, 16 – described him as a devoted family man who touched the lives of all who knew him. “Gary was more than our hero, he was the rock and foundation of our family. Words cannot express how much he was loved and how proud of him we are.”

A friend who answered the door at the family’s home in Nottingham said that Mrs Thompson was too upset to speak publicly about her loss.

Mr Thompson’s niece, identified only as Jessica, thanked a local newspaper for the dozens of messages of support that the family has received.

“My uncle was a man who you could never forget. He didn’t have one bad bone in his body,” she said. “He would always encourage you to do your dream until you got it – and then he would be the happiest man on this Earth if you did.”

Mr Thompson originally joined the RAF as a teenager in the early 1970s and spent four years in the service. By 2005, when he was 48, he had become the managing director of his family engineering company in Nottingham and then decided to join the Royal Auxiliary Air Force as a volunteer.

No one was answering the phone at the company’s offices yesterday, but tributes were paid to Mr Thompson by friends at Southwell Rugby Club, where he was vice-captain of the third XV and was described as the life and soul of the club. A minute’s silence will be held in his honour before a number of rugby matches in Nottinghamshire this weekend.

Mr Thompson and Mr Livingston, a father of one from Strathclyde who had also served in Northern Ireland and Iraq, were in Afghanistan with the Support Weapons Flight of 3 Squadron RAF Regiment. The regiment’s role is to provide the outer layer of protection and security at Kandahar airfield, ten miles southeast of Afghanistan’s second-largest city.

Fellow members of the regiment said that Mr Thompson, known as Tommo, had been a father figure to the younger and less experienced gunners. He was “one of the most approachable and friendliest people we knew”.

One colleague said: “Gary had the ability to notice when others around him were feeling under the weather or sad. He always noticed when one of us was feeling down and with his compassion you were always left feeling better within yourself.”

The commanding officer of 1 RAF Force Protection Wing, Wing Commander Scott Miller, said that Mr Thompson had earned huge respect and popularity. “The energy with which he approached his work belied his age and set an example for those around him,” he said.

Squadron Leader Richard Langley, the officer commanding 3 Squadron RAF Regiment, described Mr Thompson as “the consummate professional soldier and airman”.

Mr Livingston, an avid Celtic fan and amateur DJ who leaves a young son, Kyle, was 20 when he joined the RAF, becoming a skilled marksman.

Wing Commander Miller said he “was the sort of gunner who, with high professional skill and deep determination, sought to keep others safe, irrespective of the personal cost. His fine sense of humour and positive character played a key role in maintaining the morale of his colleagues while facing the dangerous and challenging, but vital mission in defence of Kandahar airfield.”

Mr Livingston’s mother, Rosemary O’Neil, said that her son had died doing a job he loved. “Graham was a much loved father, son and brother. As a family we are very proud and he will be sadly missed.”

Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, said that he was greatly saddened by the deaths. “They were both extremely well liked and popular airmen. My thoughts and prayers are with their family and friends.”

Sunday’s explosion brings to 93 the number of British personnel to have died in Afghanistan since the US-led coalition began its fight against the Taleban in 2001.

Frontline reserves

— 42,630 reservists serve with British Forces. They are divided into three services: the Territorial Army (36,790), the Naval and Royal Marine Reserves (3,680) and the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (2,160)

— Since January 2003, 17,000 reservists have been deployed

— The first large-scale mobilisation the Royal Auxiliary Air Force in 50 years began in 2003 and 70 per cent of its members have served in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere

— An Royal Auxiliary Air Force reservist died in a mortar attack on Basra in July

— The MoD began a review of the role of reservists on April 1

Source: MoD; Times archives

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