Funeral held in Greenock for fallen Scots soldier
Hundreds of people have gathered in Inverclyde for the funeral of a Scots soldier who was killed in Afghanistan.
L/Cpl Stephen Monkhouse, who served with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards, was shot while trying to save an injured comrade.
He was overseeing a routine rotation of troops when he was killed in the Lashkar Gah district on 21 July.
A funeral service for the 28-year-old was held on Thursday at St Andrew's RC Church in his home town of Greenock.
Twelve soldiers in red jackets and bearskin hats with rifles lined the driveway of the church.
Major Iain Gwynne, of the Scots Guards, said: "Stephen was one of the finest.
"He lived life to the full, he took every opportunity that life presented itself to enjoy himself to be a soldier, to be a musician. He just was a fantastic guy.
"Most of all he loved being a drummer. It was when he became a drummer that really, if you like, he found his niche in the Army.
"He was still a soldier very much first. He will always be remembered within the pipe band fraternity as being a great member of that fraternity."
Speaking about the soldier's actions when he was killed, he said: "Stephen did what we would hope every other soldier would do for us: He died trying to save others."
Following the funeral service, L/Cpl Monkhouse was laid to rest in a private memorial at Knocknairshill Cemetery, Greenock.
He leaves behind father Billy Monkhouse, 51, a two-year-old son, Brandon, and siblings Allan, Ashleigh and Stacey.