'An example to us all': Tributes mount for Royal Marines musician Sophie Ward

Tributes continue to pour in for a Royal Marines musician who has died following an 18-month battle with motor neurone disease.

A statement by the Bands of HM Royal said Sophie Ward will always be missed and remembered by her friends and colleagues.

"Sophie was a talented, cheerful, and fiercely dedicated Royal Marine, whose courage was an example to us all," said Lieutenant Colonel Huw Williams RM, Principal Director of Music for the Royal Marines Band Service.

• Royal Marines musicians perform heartbreaking tribute for their terminally ill bandmate
• Royal Marines Band fundraising campaign sees £30k+ raised for terminally ill musician
• Royal Marines Band Service unites behind terminally ill musician in fundraising effort

Sophie joined the Band Service in 2020 and was diagnosed with MND at the age of 26.

Her diagnosis sparked a widespread response across the Band Service and wider Armed Forces community, launching the #26forSoph fundraising campaign.

Colleagues completed challenges inspired by the number 26 – her age at the time of her diagnosis.

From endurance runs and 26,000-step walking challenges to musical tributes and marathons, the campaign saw hundreds take part.

By March 2025, the campaign had raised more than £88,000, which Sophie chose to split between the Royal Marines Charity, Dorothy House Hospice Care, and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

In 2024, Sophie was presented with her Coronation Medal by band colleagues and was honoured at a hospice concert performed by members of the Royal Marines Band Service.

Sophie received the medal from her hospice bed, in the gardens of Dorothy House Hospice, where her colleagues performed a Beating Retreat in her honour.

She was joined by her husband, Lance Corporal Richard Ward, also a Royal Marines musician, for the poignant concert.

At the time, the hospice described the event as "one final goodbye".