IT IS most sad a soldier from Weymouth should lose his life in Afghanistan.

Very few have tamed that wild country – Ghengis Khan was perhaps the first.

Alexander the Great did it bit by bit and lived in Karbul with his Afghan wife Roxanne.

Have we learned nothing from history, even our own previous efforts up the Khyber Pass? In the centre of Reading stands a huge memorial to the men lost back then.

It begs the question: How many people who sit comfortably in the cabinet room in No 10 have actually worn the Queen’s uniform or taken the Kings shilling? Not many.

• Chris Percival Radipole Lane Weymouth