Mevagissey

Story

Sapper Elijah Cooper Bond, 24, was born on 10 June 1987 in Havant, Hampshire, and grew up in St Austell, Cornwall. He joined the Corps of Royal Engineers in August 2008 and after completing his Phase One training he moved to Gibraltar Barracks to complete his Combat Engineer training. In 2009 he moved to Brompton Barracks in Chatham where he qualified as an electrical and mechanical draughtsman after a complex and academically demanding course. After two years of extensive training he arrived in Germany in September 2010 to join 37 Armoured Engineer Squadron, a part of 35 Engineer Regiment based in Paderborn. He arrived at an incredibly busy time for the Regiment and was launched straight into Afghanistan pre-deployment training which included a series of exercises and training packages. Not content with this he volunteered for, and excelled at, the General Purpose Machine Gunners’ course and showed considerable intellect by completing the Pashtu patrol language course. With a vibrant personality, he enthusiastically joined in with the lively Squadron social scene; quickly making friends and establishing himself as a character across the ranks. In quieter moments he proved to be an excellent chess player, as many a more senior member of his Squadron found out to their detriment. Sapper Bond deployed to Helmand province, Afghanistan, with his Squadron which became known as Engineer Field Squadron 1, part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group. He was deployed as a Combat Engineer in 8 Troop and based at Patrol Base Clifton in the Deh Adam Kahn area of Nahr-e Saraj district.