Deepcut soldier's inquest told of 'bubbly' guard on day of shooting
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Version 0 of 1. A driver who worked at Deepcut barracks has recalled his shock at hearing that a young recruit had apparently shot herself, having spoken to a “bubbly” female guard near the scene minutes earlier. John Rowney, an ex-soldier who was a civilian driver in 1995, said he had spent up to a minute and a half at the gate on the morning of the 18-year-old’s death on 27 November that year, and recalled sharing a joke with a female soldier. Pte Cheryl James, 18, was discovered with a fatal bullet wound in November 1995. She was one of four recruits to die at the army training camp in Surrey over a seven-year period. Rowney came forward seven years after her death to give a statement to police. He accepted that he had done so after seeing a Panorama programme, which aired three days before he contacted officers, looking at James’s death and questioning whether it had been a suicide. Asked why, Rowney said: “That’s because I didn’t believe Cheryl could have committed suicide, if it was Cheryl who dealt with me.” He said he had not come forward in the days after James’s death because he expected police to come and ask people about what had happened. He said: “I expected them [the police] to come around and talk to people, stop people, ask people questions.” An open verdict on the death of James, from Llangollen, north Wales, was recorded in December 1995. A second inquest is taking place after high court judges quashed the 1995 verdict. Rowney added: “I thought they [the police] must have it right. They must have done the investigation and whatever they say must be right otherwise they investigate more.” Rowney passed through the Royal Way gate at Deepcut shortly after 8am on the morning of the incident, returning around 25 minutes later after picking up an officer. He made a further, more detailed statement to the inquest in January this year. Giving evidence to Woking coroner’s court in the fourth week of the inquest, he described the soldier at the gate as “jolly, happy” and “loving her job, actually”. He said he was shocked when told that a female soldier at the gate had shot herself, adding: “[I thought] it can’t be that girl who dealt with me. She was too bubbly. She was not a suicide case at all.” He said he felt that the statement he gave in 2002 had been rushed. “He [the police officer] wasn’t helping me to try and remember. And it was sort of a rush job.” He told the inquest he recalled seeing up to five people at the gate that morning, including a dark-haired male wearing a parachute Denison smock, a detail he did not include in his original statement when he said he had seen a male and female soldier, both wearing brown combats. Rowney rejected suggestions he had confused his memory of that day with that of other mornings at Deepcut, where he continued to work between the date of James’s death and the time of making his statement to Surrey police. Nicholas Moss, representing the Ministry of Defence, said differences in Rowney’s statements could represent “how badly the passage of time can affect your memory”. Earlier, Vance Parker, who at the time of James’s death was a squadron sergeant major with responsibility for training senior non-commissioned officers, said the gate in question was closed when he arrived to pass through it at 7.15am. Asked by Moss whether it was possible that the gate was open but unmanned, Parker, who gave evidence via videolink, said: “No sir, the gate was locked. It’s very hard to mistake a big metal gate being closed over.” Ptes Sean Benton, 20, James Collinson, 17, and Geoff Gray, 17, also died from gunshot wounds at the barracks between 1995 and 2002. The inquest was adjourned until Wednesday. |