Daniel’s Trust
FIGHT AGAINST BULLYING
From 1995 to September 2001 there
have been 19 'non combat' deaths at Catterick. A very small
percent of these deaths could be genuine and my son may be one
of those, but until all the veil of secrecy and mystery
surrounding the deaths has been lifted no one will ever know
which is genuine and which isn't and there will always be
doubts.At this moment all eyes are focused on the sad deaths of
the young men and women at Deepcut and rightly so, but there
are many more similar stories from other areas, including
Catterick and even barracks overseas. The following stories are
about some of the young men and what happened to them and how
their parents have tried to get the answers they need. These
young people were fit and healthy when they joined the army and
were willing to give up their lives for their country. Yet the
way they have been treated both physically and mentally whilst
serving in the 'modern' army in this day and age is both brutal
and shocking and should never happen.What ever happens now will
never return these soldiers to their families, but it will
highlight what is still happening and may prevent other young
people's lives being so tragically cut short.
Daniel Michael Farr
Daniel joined the Prince of Wales Own on
the 9 June 1996 and died on the 10 June 1997 exactly a year
later. From being a young boy Dan-e had always wanted to join
the army and worked hard to enlist. Daniel came home on leave
the weekend before he died, when I met him a York station, he
had a pain in his leg and could hardly walk. I asked him if he
had reported it and he said no because he would not have been
allowed home. Living where we do I suggested taking him
straight to York Hospital. At the hospital a full examination
was made and he was told it was probably strain that he had put
on his leg through being on crutches for a stress fracture.
which was feasible. He rested for most of the weekend and I
drove him back to Vimy Barracks on Sunday teatime. I was told
later that he had been for a drink with his corporal that night
On Monday morning we received a phone call
to say that Dan-e had pneumonia, they said it wasn't serious,
and that they were moving him to Friarage Hospital in
Northallerton. We decided to go to see him but didn't rush. As
we were travelling up the A1 we received another call to say
that Dan-e was on a life support machine, we arrived just after
lunch. Lots of test were carried out but nothing could be
found. The Doctors then decided that his only chance would be
to be taken to the world famous Jimmy's in Leeds (this
ironically was where he was born). The journey was awful as we
couldn't fit in the ambulance and had to follow behind not
knowing whether he was still alive or not, it was 11pm when we
arrived and he had survived the journey. The Doctors at Jimmy's
were great and again more tests were made and nothing was
found. The specialist there said 'He had never seen anything
like it and could not believe what was happening, if it had
been an elderly man who had abused his body all his life then
it could happen but not in a fit young soldier' these words are
imprinted in my mind. Dan-e died in the early hours of the
Tuesday morning. Later that day about 2pm we received a phone
call from the coroner in Leeds to say that all that could be
found was pneumonia and suggested we have an inquest, we
agreed. Then about 4pm we had another phone call this time from
the Coroner in North Yorkshire one Jeremy Cave who told us that
because Dan-e was stationed at Catterick he would be dealing
with the case and told us that and inquest wasn't necessary,
again we agreed. All we wanted at that time was for it to
end.After 6 years in 2003 I finally saw Dan-e's post mortem
report where it stated that the primary source of infection
that caused the pneumonia could not be established. Then in
February 2004 I was told that there was no board of inquiry new
Lynn & Michael Farr.
I have given a name to my pain…..
It's called 'Longing.'
I long for what was,
and for what might have been
I long for his touch and smell so sweet;
I long to hold him one more time.
I long to look at his lovely face
and impress it upon my memory and heart,
I long to return to the day before
and protect him from his death.
I long to take his place,
so he may live and have sons too,
I long for time to pass much faster,
so my longing and pain will lessen.
But will they?
Richard Robertson
We received a call from our son Richard in
the late afternoon of the 21st September, he was in good
spirits telling us he was joining the rest of the platoon that
evening on a night shoot. I was surprised that he was included
in the exercise as he was on crutches, but he told us that
there were another couple of lads on crutches as well also
taking part. In the same phone call he also had a few word with
his grandmother and he told her much the same story, as well as
telling her he was looking forward to coming up to Edinburgh to
meet a friend on the Saturday if he could walk without his
crutches.That was the last time we heard Richard's voice.On the
morning of the 22nd September at 6.55am an army official who
told us that there had been an accident the previous evening
and that Richard was dead visited us. We later found out that
the accident had occurred 11 hours before we had been informed.
At the night shoot there had been a practice run of loading and
unloading their SA80 rifles and it was in the waiting time that
the shot had been heard.At the inquest the following March 1996
an open verdict was delivered and we came away with a lot of
unanswered questions. I continued to try and find out what had
happened that night, but always came up against a brick wall. I
managed to track down some statements from the recruits and
their sergeants and was interested to read that one had
remembered that Richard's gun having been cleared. Obviously
this was the case, as the gun that went off had no magazine
attached to it. It sickens me to think of all the young lives
lost in peacetime during training over the last 8 years. The
army still haven't tightened up their protocol of weapons and
live ammo
Richard was in good spirits before the
accident and looking forward to continuing his training. He was
eager to visit his girlfriend in Edinburgh on the Saturday
Part of a letter sent by Linda & Brain
Robertson to M P Kevin McNamara
“There have been 19 deaths at
Catterick since 1995. This is far too many and is only the tip
of the iceberg. There are more in other training centres all
over Britain.
An inquiry into all these deaths is long
overdue”
Linda Robertson
William Nnamdi Beckley-Lines
William joined the Royal Green Jacket in
Jan 1998 seven months later he died
William went home on leave the weekend
before he died. The following Friday after returning to
Catterick he went out on exercise. This involved a 2 mile run,
at the end of the run William collapsed and died. The cause of
death was exhaustion, and sickle cell anemiea The family paid
for a second post mortem which disclosed bruises in his genital
area that had not been revealed in the first examination.
Allan Sharples
My son Allan died at the age of 20 at
Helles Barracks Catterick North Yorkshire, on the 30the April
2000 whilst on guard duty.
Allan was very proud to be in the army
and was a very confident and happy lad.
He died with a single gun shot wound to
his head.
His gun was not checked neither was the
soldier he was on duty with and his gun was cleaned and put
back on a rack
An open verdict was reached. The
inquest did not last 10 minutes and no Board of Inquiry was
ever carried out for Allan
June Sharples
Overseas
Belize
Ian Holt
Ian enlisted in the Royal Electrical and
Mechanical Engineers (REME) on 14th December 1982. After basic
training, he went on to complete twelve months trade training
(as a gun fitter) before moving with his wife to his first post
with 48 Command Workshop, Cyprus. Returning home from Cyprus he
served with P&EE, Shoeburyness where his daughter was born
in 1986, and then he moved on to the Scots Dragoon Guards in
Fallingbostel, Germany. He arrived in Colchester in January
1990 and served for a short time with 45 Field Regiment
Workshop before joining 'D' Battery 3rd Royal Horse Artillery
Workshop in March 1990. It was on September 23rd 1991 while he
was attached to 'D' Battery 3rd RHA and on tour in Belize that
he died.
Ian had reached the rank of Corporal and
his full intention was to sign on for the full term of twenty
two years in December that year. He was also shortly due to
attempt Artificer selection and it was hoped he would succeed
and realise his greatest ambition.
With only approximately five weeks left
to serve in Belize Ian's family were informed of his untimely
death. Initially they were told he had died while handling a
faulty gun, but about 10 days after his death it was suggested
in the national press he had been playing Russian roulette. The
army personnel initially denied these claims and told the
family to ignore the accusations.
After hearing and reading about the
accusations the family repeatedly asked to see the reports on
Ian's death to verify what had happened, they were refused
access to any written report on the incident, and to this day
have not seen the Board of Inquiry Report into Ian's death. Now
nearly fourteen years after Ian's death his family have
recently been told they cannot see the Board of Inquiry Report
as it cannot be found and was probably destroyed after the
completion of his case.
Ian's mother Norma Langford and his
daughter Lisa Marie Holt are members of the Deepcut and Beyond
Campaign and are both hoping for a Full Public Inquiry into
Non-combat deaths, they feel this is the only way their
questions will be answered on how their son and father died.
Ian’s daughter
