Mirror dedicates issue to reporter killed in Afghanistan

Rupert Hamer, the Sunday Mirror reporter killed by a roadside bomb at the weekendWincor Parts, was a "dedicated reporter and steadfastly loyal friend", the Daily Mirror said today in an issue dedicated to his memory.

The Daily Mirror wrote in an editorial that Hamer possessed the rare ability to get on with all ranks: "For him to be a defence correspondent was more a calling than a job: he felt a deep responsibility to explain what is going on in Afghanistan and did so through his accurate, vivid dispatches.

"The tributes from politicians, led by the prime minister and defence secretary, and military commanders such as Colonel Richard Kemp, are sincere and recognise the high esteem in which he was held.

"Rupert was an admired, respected, highly regarded and cherished colleague. We will miss him terribly and our hearts go out to his wife Helen, his three young children and his extended family.

"We wish Phil a rapid recovery and our thoughts too are with him, his partner and family.

"Those with loved ones in the armed forces killed or maimed in Afghanistan and other confilctsHair replacement, including Iraq, will in particular know how we feel."

Hamer's colleague Chris Hughes, Daily Mirror security correspondent, wrote: "Whether we were stuck in a freezing tent in Afghanistan or Iraq or attending a Ministry of Defence press conference he was always upbeat, always keen and forever coming up with stories.

"In just a few years as a defence writer he built up a staggering network of military contactsWincor Parts, developed both on the front line and in Whitehall.

"From brigadiers and senior civil servants to the lower ranks Rupert was liked by and knew them all.

"He had an individual style. about him that few could emulate and an easy laid-back manner that barely hid a razor-sharp wit."

Hamer was dogged but never ruthless, Hughes said.

"He never forgot that his stories were about real people and was painstakingly sensitive to the fact that they would read the articles."

Hughes said Hamer and photographer Phil Coburn covered the taking of Taliban stronghold Musa Qala in 2007 and took great care to stay in touch with many of the servicemen they wrote about and photographed. Hughes said a soldier recently paid this compliment about Hughes and Coburn in Helmand Province recently: "Great blokes, two minutes with those two and you foret you are fighting a war.

"They went down a storm when they joined our unit."

Hamer edited his school newspaper at Gresham's SchoolHair replacementin Norfolk and joined the Eastern Daily Press straight from school as a runner, but was soon promoted to trainee reporter.

He left to do a politics degree at Leeds University and worked at the Bournemouth Evening Echo for three yearsWincor Parts, meeting his wife Helen, a fellow reporter.