This is a tribute to Carlo Apolis. Rifleman Carlo Apolis of 4th Battalion The Rifles (4 RIFLES), serving as part of the 3 RIFLES Battle Group, was killed in Afghanistan on 1st March 2010.

Rifleman Carlo Apolis was killed by a gunshot wound resulting from small arms fire in Sangin, Helmand province. He was on a foot patrol about 700 metres east of Patrol Base Blenheim, taking part in a wider operation conducted by the 3 RIFLES Battle Group to expand security around the district centre.

Rifleman Carlo Apolis was a South African who came to the United Kingdom in 2004. He worked in a hotel in Exeter before joining the Army, a little older than most recruits. Rifleman Carlo Apolis initially enlisted in 2007 but left the Army for a short while before re-joining six months later.

After attending the demanding Combat Infantryman's Course at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick, Rifleman Carlo Apolis joined 4th Battalion, The Rifles in November 2007. He was posted to A Company, training with them throughout 2008 and then attended Pre-Deployment Training in 2009, prior to deploying on his first Operational tour to Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK 11.

Nicknamed 'Apollo' by friends within his platoon, Rifleman Carlo Apolis leaves behind his mother, father, two sisters and his long-term girlfriend Rebecca.

Carlo Apolis's girlfriend, Rebecca Williams, paid the following tribute:

"Most people will have known Carlo as fun loving and highly entertaining, someone who could make you smile and motivate you when you were feeling down. But outside work he also had a much quieter and more reserved side that not many people would have seen, and he liked to keep his personal life private.

"Carlo was my best friend and we shared everything together, I miss him so much and he will always be with me in my thoughts. He will be sadly missed by everyone that knew him."