Capt Tom Sawyer's family pay tribute to the Watford soldier in first interview since his death

The family of Captain Tom Sawyer has spoken about their love, pride and admiration for the Watford soldier for the first time following the conclusion of the inquest into his death last week.

The 26-year-old, who served in The Royal Artillery, was killed by a javelin missile in ‘friendly fire’ during an operation with Danish forces to clear Taliban compounds in Afghanistan on January 14, 2009.

Capt Sawyer’s parents told the Watford Observer this week that their son was a natural-born leader who knew he wanted to join the armed forces at an early age and died doing the job he loved.

Mum Sue said: "We were and still are so proud, he was doing the job he loved and said to me before he went that ‘if something happens to me don’t get upset, bouncing about on the telly – I’m doing the job I love, working with great people, I’ve got a beautiful wife’.

"He had everything; a loving wife and family, a beautiful home, great work colleagues and a job he would not have changed for the world.

"Nothing would have made him change that and we draw comfort from that – he was the happiest he had ever been, he lived his dream."

Dad Martyn said Tom knew he wanted to join the armed services at the age of just seven and had a shirt with a badge emblazoned with the word ‘commando’ that he "never took off".

He knew every word of the Tom Cruise film Top Gun and initially wanted to join the RAF until he realised "not everyone becomes a pilot" and set his sights on becoming a commando.

At 16, the Watford Grammar School for Boys pupil told his parents that he was going away with friends for a few days – but, in fact, he was secretly trying out for the commandos.

Martyn said: "He was back in less than two days. ‘What are you doing back?’, ‘I’ve done my shoulder’, he said. It started to click and he had gone away to try to get in to the commandos."

The keen sportsman was the captain of Riverside AFC, run by his father, from the age of seven right up until he joined the Army.

Sue said: "He wasn’t captain just because he was Martyn’s son; you could see he had leadership qualities. He was a natural leader.

"He was a bossy boots, he always looked after his sister Wendy and was like a second dad to her. He was so protective of her."

He was the youngest of the Sandhurst intake of 2001 before he secured his first post in the Royal Artillery in Newcastle in 2003 and then Cyprus later that year.

It was in Cyprus that he met his future wife, Katy. Martyn said: "One of Tom’s colleagues saw him looking at Katy from quite a distance and it went on from there.

"They used to juggle their careers together so they saw each other."

After serving in Northern Ireland and Pirbright, Tom gained the Green Beret he had craved since he was a child in January 2006.

Incredibly, he completed the final seven miles of the notoriously tough commando assault course with a broken ankle.

Martyn said: "They strapped it, injected him and he hobbled around on it because he was not coming back without that beret."

During Tom’s first tour of Afghanistan in 2005 he was awarded a commendation after stepping in to save one of the Afghan soldiers he was training.

He married the love of his life, Katy, dressed in his prized possession, his Green Beret, before the pair enjoyed a honeymoon in South Africa.

Just months later Katy, who worked in intelligence, was posted in Iraq and Tom was sent back to Afghanistan on the Fire Support Team – but sadly, he would not come home.

Martyn said a Department for Defence representative had sat outside their Oxhey home for several hours before he finally knocked on the door at 2am.

He said: "I’ll never forget that night. When the doorbell rang, Sue shot out of bed and said ‘something’s happened to Tom’.

"But we were so sure of his team, he was so confident that we had every confidence – we never said anything [about something going wrong].

"I knew he was that good, with a good team behind him, I thought he would be fine, it didn’t even cross my mind.

"That was what he wanted to do, we wanted him to be happy – that was his life and we supported him. We were and still are immensely proud of him, the forces and of Katy. They were so good together."

Hundreds of people turned out for Tom’s funeral at St Mary’s Church on a snowy February 4, 2009.

It is where his sister, Wendy, will marry her fiancé Adam in June and Katy will be one of the bridesmaids.

The family said they were amazed by the response from friends, family, servicemen, charity and Watford community groups.

They also launched a campaign to have a new war memorial to be built in Watford to ensure Tom and others who perished on the battlefield are never forgotten.

They were backed by Mayor Dorothy Thornhill and Watford Borough Council, resulting in the construction of a new one by the Town Hall.

Sue said: "Tom was an amazing husband, son and brother; he cared immensely about everyone and loved the army and being a gunner.

"He cared about all his lads, he’s always been someone who wouldn’t expect someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself, he cared about them and wanted them to fulfil their own potential.

"And they said he was the best boss they had and they were so proud to serve under him. His motto was ‘look after the ones below and the ones above take care of themselves’, he didn’t like injustice.

"He had boundless enthusiasm - everyday was an adventure. You always knew when he walked in a room because not only did the atmosphere light up but so did the volume in the room.

"He was the happiest he had ever been - he lived his dream."