Coroner questions claims officers did not know of 'beasting' that led to soldier's death
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Version 0 of 1. A coroner has questioned claims that army officers did not know about a “beasting” punishment that led to the death of a young soldier after suffering from heat illness. Pte Gavin Williams, 22, described as a “gentle giant”, collapsed after vigorous marching and a gym session at Lucknow barracks in Wiltshire. During his inquest, senior officers denied knowing Williams was being “beasted”, but at the start of his conclusion, Assistant Coroner Alan Large said the route of the march had been chosen so that it would be seen by the chain of command. “It was a very public exercise and witnessed by many in the camp,” he said. Large rejected some elements of the evidence given by a crucial witness, the adjutant, Capt Mark Davis, who was in charge of discipline. Davis had said that when Williams was brought to his office he did not know he had just been subject to a beasting. The coroner said Williams was hot and sweating, adding: “It must have been clear to the adjutant that Gavin had been exercising hard.” The coroner said he believed Williams had been put under greater physical pressure than those in charge of him had claimed. PT instructors said he had used a punchbag and done some squat thrusts. But the coroner said he believed Williams had been subjected to “more strenuous” exercise than they had admitted to. Large will complete his conclusions on Friday afternoon. The inquest in Salisbury, which lasted for six weeks, heard that Williams, from south Wales, underwent the “beasting” in July 2006 following a night of heavy drinking, during which he set off a fire extinguisher at an officers’ ball. Next morning, Davis ordered that Williams, 22, be brought before him “hot and sweaty”. Despite the weather – it was the hottest July on record in some parts of the UK – Williams was “yakked” – forced to take part in vigorous exercise that involved him marching at quick pace and on the spot. One civilian observer described the yakking, which was overseen by Cpl John Edwards, as “preposterous”. Another soldier said Williams looked terrible. “Sweat was coming off his face. He looked in a shit state … You could see he was draining out. I remember thinking it’s a bit hot for that type of punishment.” Williams was then brought before Davis, who stripped him of his 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh Regiment cap badge. Sgt Russell Price next marched Williams to a gym where he was forced to do yet more exercise. He collapsed and could not be revived. Tests showed that his body temperature had soared to 41.7C, well above the norm of 37C. Three soldiers, including Edwards and Price, were prosecuted for manslaughter but cleared by a jury in 2008. The trial judge expressed concern about the practice of “beasting” and criticised the fact that three non-commissioned officers had been put in the dock while their commanding officer, Davis, was being promoted. During the inquest, Davis, now a lieutenant colonel, expressed regret over the language he had used in asking Williams to be brought to him “hot and sweaty” and for stripping him of his cap badge. However, he insisted he had not meant for Williams to be “beasted” and was not aware of any mistreatment. Other senior officers said they had no knowledge of beastings. But Edwards said “high rankers” – senior officers – had seen the yakking. Price said “corrective military training”, as he called it, was always done at the direction of senior ranks and in plain view of everyone. Another soldier who served with Williams said he had been beasted so many times he had lost count. “I have seen the staff beasting people round the camp before,” he said. “It is routine. For me, it seems part of army life.” The inquest, which heard from about 100 witnesses, has raised serious questions over what unofficial punishments went on in the British army in addition to formal ones set out in regulations. Next month, the issue of army culture at the time will return to the fore when a new inquest is held into the death of Pte Cheryl James, 18, one of four recruits who died of gunshot wounds at Deepcut barracks in Surrey between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse. The Williams inquest has also refocused attention on the British army’s understanding of heat illness, a topic that hit the headlines last year when an inquest heard how three highly-fit SAS recruits had collapsed and died during a test on the Brecon Beacons on a hot summer’s day. |