The 100th soldier to die in action in Iraq has been remembered as a noble and considerate natural leader who always thought of others.

Tributes have poured into an online condolence book set up by The Argus in memory of Second Lieutenant Jonathan Carlos Bracho-Cooke. Dozens of messages of admiration, friendship and sympathy for the Cooke family have been posted on the site and have been read by relatives of the 24-year-old officer of Sandringham Close, Hove.

Among the words from former colleagues, school friends and well-wishers have been accounts of how Second Lt Bracho-Cooke was respected, both professionally and personally, by almost everyone he met.

Andrew Keeler, from Lydd in Kent, knew the soldier from when he joined the Territorial Army's 884 troop based in Dyke Road, Brighton at the age of 17. Mr Keeler served with him in Bosnia, where the pair shared a room for six months.

Mr Keeler wrote: "There was never a dull moment around Jon and advice was always forthcoming. We spoke in depth about his future military plans and I am proud to have known him. He did follow his dream of becoming an officer and carried out his duty as only Jon could.

"I pass my deepest sympathies to his family and fianceé. He is one of the finest and most honourable people I have ever met and one who will be missed deeply, but never forgotten."

Second Lt Bracho-Cooke , who was serving with the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, was killed by a roadside bomb during a routine patrol in Basra last Monday.

He was to marry Laura Bottomley at Sandurst Chapel on August 9. Jonathan graduated from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst in April and had been in Iraq for just six weeks when he died.

At the age of 17, Second Lt Bracho-Cooke joined the TA and after serving in Bosnia, he returned to Brighton and Hove where he worked while training to be accepted to Sandhurst. He worked hard on his fitness and overcame dyslexia.

A few years ago he worked in a Lloyds TSB call centre in Victoria House, off Trafalgar Place, Brighton.

His team manager at the time, Julian Lazarus, of Tongdean Avenue, Hove, remembered: "He was a charming, highly principled young man and we had many chats about the danger of extremist Islam and how best to deal with it.

"His loss is tragic but I will always remember him for being such a thoroughly decent human being."

Mr Lazarus told The Argus the soldier had shown no fear about the possibility of being sent to Afghanistan or Iraq.

He said: "He was politically astute. He had read quite a bit. He was pretty sharp.

"He was a hard-working, very nice, easy-to-get-along with guy."

Stuart Ridgwell, of Graham Crescent, Portslade, wrote: "I remember Jon as a young lad at the age of 17 when he joined 884 Troop in Brighton. He always was a keen enthusiastic Royal Signals soldier who always did well. There never seemed to be much that got him down. After hearing the tragic news, I've just been remembering all the good times we had with him in 884 troop and the times out socialising.

"My heart goes out to his family and his fianceé. He will be very sadly missed."

John Wells, from Brighton and a contemporary at Cardinal Newman school, said: "My fondest memory of Jon is from our end-of-college Prom. He saw that I was sitting at a table and came over to talk to me, bought me a drink and even got me up dancing later on."

Second Lt Bracho-Cooke's father, also called Jonathan, said he had been reading the tributes to his son as they have been posted on the website.

He said: "They are very moving. We are very honoured that so many people have done this. I have read a lot of them. It is a really nice tribute."

To read the online book of condolence, or to leave a message, click here