17-year-old Pte Andrew James Borkertas from Grantham, Lincolnshire enlisted into the Army on 15 December 2006 and commenced recruit training on 8 January 2007 at the Infantry Training Centre Catterick. He was due to join 2nd Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment and was being trained in the Queen’s Division Company of the 1st Infantry Training Battalion. On Friday 15 June 2007, while completing a routine combat fitness test with his platoon on the local training area, Pte Borkertas died in tragic circumstances.

He was as an extremely popular member of the platoon who was hugely enthusiastic in meeting the challenges of recruit training head-on. He was really flourishing in the later stages of the course and was developing into a really capable and reliable young infantry soldier.

He was a dedicated young man who was showing the necessary mix of professional grit and personal spark that is the hallmark of today’s young infantry soldier. He was a young man with a bright future and will be sorely missed by all those who knew and worked with him.