TWO young but experienced officers and a lance corporal whose wife had recently given birth to a daughter were named yesterday by the Ministry of Defence as the latest victims of the Taleban in southern Afghanistan.

Second Lieutenant Ralph Johnson, 24, of The Life Guards, Lance Corporal Ross Nicholls, 27, of The Blues and Royals, both part of the Household Cavalry Regiment, and Captain Alex Eida, 29, of 7 Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, were killed in an ambush by Taleban fighters in northern Helmand province on Tuesday.

They were all travelling in an armoured Spartan reconnaissance vehicle, which should have provided significantly better protection than the armoured Land Rovers that have been targeted so often by Shia militants in southern Iraq.

However, military sources said last night that even though the Spartan had been fitted with enhanced armour, no vehicle was invulnerable to attack.

Lance Corporal Nicholls, whose newborn daughter is called Erin, also leaves a son, Cameron, 2. He had decided to leave the Army and the tour in Afghanistan was to have been his last before ending his military career.

He and his wife, Angela, lived in Central London. He had served in Afghanistan before, and also in Iraq. He joined The Blues and Royals in July 2004 after initially serving with 216 Signals Squadron, part of 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Smyth-Osbourne, commanding officer of the Household Cavalry Regiment, based at Windsor, said: “He volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan despite the fact he had decided to leave the Army.”

He was serving as Lieutenant Johnson’s operator in the Spartan when it was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machinegun fire. “With his death, the Household Cavalry Regiment has suffered the loss of a talented soldier, and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.”

Captain Eida, who was single and lived in Hooley, Surrey, had his first taste of army life in the Territorial Army while studying for a degree at the University of Glamorgan. Captain Eida, who had a degree in technology business studies, worked as a ski instructor in France before joining the regular Army, and after Sandhurst was commissioned into the Royal Artillery.

He served with his regiment in the Iraq war during the initial fighting phase in early 2003, and also served in Kosovo in 2004 in a covert surveillance role.

He joined 7 Para Royal Horse Artillery in October 2002, and in Afghanistan was serving as a forward observation officer, which meant he was always in the front line of the fighting with the Taleban, directing artillery fire on targets that he selected.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Hammond, his commanding officer, said: “We have lost a gifted young officer and friend who was a leading light of the unit and will be sadly missed. He was a real character and personality who grew up as an officer among us and gave so much to the regiment.”

His regiment said that throughout his initial training he stood out in the crowd. “Though extremely easygoing and self-effacing, he always displayed real enthusiasm and passion for his work, on the sports field, during adventure training and socially.”

He was always prepared to “go the extra mile for his soldiers who willingly did the same for him”.

Lieutenant Johnson, who lived in Windsor, joined The Life Guards in August last year. He became a “first-rate troop leader”. Colonel Smyth- Osbourne said: “In Afghanistan he displayed real composure and huge professional competence in a novel, harsh and unforgiving environment, and it was typical that during the early hours of August 1 he was leading from the front when killed in an ambush in northern Helmand.”

Lieutenant Johnson’s regiment said he was “brave, determined and thoroughly loyal to his soldiers and superiors”. He was also popular, quick-witted and clearly “adored his time in the Army”. Lance Corporal Nicholls enlisted into the Royal Corps of Signals, and his commanding officer said that his experience as a signaller before joining The Blues and Royals had “stood him in good stead” as a bright and effective operator with his squadron.

The Blues and Royals is the regiment that Prince Harry joined after completing his officer training course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The Prince is currrently learning to be a platoon leader, operating with armoured Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles, at the Army’s training establishment at Bovington in Dorset. In the ambush on Tuesday, a Scimitar as well as a Spartan were targeted and badly damaged.

When Prince Harry has finished his training, the Army will have to decide whether he should be sent with his squadron to an operation such as Afghanistan or Iraq.

Of the nine soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan in the past two months, four were officers. The other two were Captain Jim Philippson, of 7 Para Royal Horse Artillery, and Captain David Patten, a special forces officer from the Parachute Regiment.

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