TRIBUTES were tonight paid to a Didcot bomb disposal expert who died in Afghanistan on the final day of his five-month tour.

Staff Sgt Olaf ‘Oz’ Schmid, of the Royal Logistic Corps, died instantly on Saturday after a bomb exploded in the Sangin region of Helmand Province.

Soldiers at Vauxhall Barracks, in Foxhall Road, where 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment is based, have been coming to terms with his death.

Today troops held a minute’s silence in memory of Staff Sgt Schmid, 30, and lowered the Royal Logistic Corps flag to half-mast.

It is the third death the regiment has suffered during operations in Afghanistan.

On Saturday, Staff Sgt Schmid was commanding a team dealing with a bomb.

He was trying to defuse it when it went off.

He was married and lived with wife Christina and step-son Laird, in Winchester.

Mrs Schmid said: “Oz was a phenomenal husband and loving father who was cruelly murdered on his last day of a relentless five-month tour.

“He was my best friend and soulmate.

“The pain of losing him is overwhelming.

“I take comfort knowing he saved countless lives with his hard work. I am so proud of him.”

Lt Col Gareth Bex, Staff Sgt Schmid’s commanding officer, described him as a “brilliant operator” and a “superb soldier”.

Speaking from Helmand Province, Lt Col Bex RLC, Commanding Officer of Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, said: “Staff Sgt Schmid stood proud among some formidable men serving here in Afghanistan – the tag ‘legend’ is frequently bestowed nowadays, but in his case it is rightly justified.

“His courage was not displayed in a fleeting moment of time. He stared death in the face on a daily basis.

“Many soldiers and ordinary Afghans owe their lives to his gallant actions and his sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

Staff Sgt Schmid was posted to 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, as an Ammunition Technician Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, providing support to Special Forces and Police Tactical Firearms teams.

He arrived in Afghanistan in June and was thrown in at the deep end, participating in Operation Panther’s Claw during the summer.

During his tour, he attended 41 tasks, made safe 64 bombs and attended 11 finds of bomb-making equipment.

Lt Col Robert Thomson, Commanding Officer 2 Rifles Battle Group, said: “Staff Sgt Oz Schmid was simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met.

“Under relentless IED and small arms attacks, he stood taller than the tallest.”

In a hushed House of Commons, Didcot MP Ed Vaizey led tributes to Staff Sgt Schmid during Defence Questions.