THE parents of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan before Christmas praised a community for its support during a ceremony to unveil his name on a village war memorial.

Captain Richard Holloway, of Hamsterley, near Bishop Auckland, was hit by enemy fire while on operations east of Kabul with the Royal Engineers on December 23 last year.

At a special re-dedication service on the village green near his home on Saturday (September 6) the 29-year-old’s name was included on the war memorial.

His parents Neil and Jacquie, together with Capt Hollway’s girlfriend Sandy and his brother Luke were all in attendance.

Mrs Holloway said: “On Saturday afternoon that was another perfect example of the community coming together to recognise the sacrifice Richard made.

“I gather it is a rare occurrence to have a name added to the war memorial. It is really nice people were able to come and pay their respects.”

She added: “Yet again we want to say how deeply we appreciate the support from the community. It was very moving.”