Guardsman Stephen Ferguson, a soldier loved for his sense of humour who had been serving with the 1st Battalion Scots Guards in Iraq, died on 13 December, 2007.

Gdsm Ferguson was on active service near the city of Basra just days before British forces handed over power to the Iraqi authorities. He was driving an armoured vehicle on the night of 12 December as part of a routine patrol when he crashed into a canal.

Other soldiers rescued him from the vehicle and gave first aid. He was then flown back to the UK, but died from his injuries the following day at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham. He was the 174th British soldier killed in Iraq since the 2004 invasion.

Stephen Ferguson, 31, was from Lanarkshire in Scotland and was known to his friends as ‘Fergie’. He was a passionate supporter of Motherwell and famed for his sense of humour and comedy T-shirt collection. "Stephen was a fantastic son, a proud Scots Guardsman, and was loved by all that knew him," his parents said.

His commanding officer with 1st Battalion Scots Guards, Lieutenant Colonel William Swinton MBE, said: "Guardsman Stephen Ferguson’s sudden and tragic death has left his Battalion feeling a deep and profound sorrow for his loss. As Scots Guardsmen, we have all lost a good friend and a loyal and faithful comrade. He will never be forgotten.

"Stephen was a superb infantry soldier and a proud Scots Guardsman. He made a success of everything he turned his hand to. He was well known across the Battalion, and had served in many parts of it. He was fiercely loyal to his Regiment, and to his friends. I have seldom heard so many tributes paid by those of us he has left behind.

Major Robert Howieson, of 1st Battalion Scots Guards, said that Gdsm Ferguson was "well aware" of the risks of his work but he "faced them implacably and with courage".

Mjr Howieson also spoke fondly of Stephen’s sense of humour: "I will always remember his approach to applying camouflage cream on exercise; each day would see him with a new cam cream moustache, from Groucho through to handlebar!"

His platoon commander, Lieutenant Tom Cowdry, said: "Guardsman ‘Fergie’ Ferguson was the nicest and most hardworking person anyone could wish to know. He was the very definition of a grafter, always the first on the vehicle park, and the last to leave, forever tinkering with his spanner. He had a tremendous sense of humour, and was impossible to get down. Even after hours of vehicle maintenance, he could come out with his famous line to the mechanics, ‘if you can fix them, then I can break them’.

"In Fergie I have lost a very dear friend, someone I spent hours talking to through numerous scrapes and shenanigans. He was truly a friend to all who knew him and I am privileged to have known such a person and been able to call him a friend."

His friend and room mate from the platoon Guardsman David Casey said Fergie had "the ability to get on with everybody he met" and "could always be relied upon to make even the worst situations bearable".

"He was happiest when he was filthy and coated in oil," he added. "Fergie was more than a friend, he was like a brother to me and the rest of the platoon. The platoon will never be the same without him, and he will always be in our memories."