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Inquest into deaths of reservists in SAS training exercise opens SAS march on which three men died 'went ahead to avoid paperwork'
(about 3 hours later)
An inquest into the deaths of three army reservists who collapsed during an SAS training exercise will ensure the “full facts are brought to light”, a coroner has said. An army officer told a grieving family that a gruelling SAS test march during which three highly fit men suffered heat illness and died was not called off because of the amount of paperwork a cancellation would have created, it has been claimed.
The hearing is to examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Lance Corporal Edward Maher, Lance Corporal Craig Roberts and Corporal James Dunsby. The mother of Craig Roberts, one of the trio who died during the exercise on the Brecon Beacons, claimed she asked why the march had not been cancelled when she went to identify her son’s body.
All three men died after taking part in the military exercise on Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales on 13 July 2013. In a statement read out at the inquest of the three men, Margaret Roberts said: “We asked why the march could not have waited.” She alleged an officer told her: “There would be too much paperwork to postpone it.”
The inquest, starting on Monday and attended by all the men’s families, was also told that any “factual failings” could feature in the coroner’s conclusion, if uncovered. In her statement, Roberts said: “We were so angry at that. Not only had we just seen our beautiful boy. We were being told the march had not been cancelled to save paperwork.”
Louise Hunt, senior coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, said: “It’s important this inquest is both prompt, effective and independent and involves the families. Roberts, 24, James Dunsby and Edward Maher, both 31, were all taking part in the exercise on and around Pen Y Fan, the highest mountain in southern Britain, on 13 July 2013. All suffered hyperthermia.
“It’s also important that the full facts are brought to light, culpability and discreditable conduct exposed and suspicion of deliberate wrongdoing is allayed.” The inquest, which is being held in Solihull, West Midlands, heard that temperatures reached 27C (80.6F) and winds were light. As temperatures increased during the day, several other men suffered heat illness and could not complete the test, the inquest heard.
She added that any changes or lessons learned as a result of the soldiers’ deaths would also be examined. At the start of the hearing, Louise Hunt, senior coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, said: “It’s important that the full facts are brought to light, culpability and discreditable conduct exposed and suspicion of deliberate wrongdoing is allayed.” She added that any changes or lessons learned as a result of the soldiers’ deaths would also be examined.
Hunt said: “Those that lost a relative will at least have satisfaction of knowing any lessons learned from the death may save the lives of others.”Hunt said: “Those that lost a relative will at least have satisfaction of knowing any lessons learned from the death may save the lives of others.”
Setting out the circumstances of the training exercise, Hunt said 78 soldiers carrying backpacks weighing at least 49lb (22kg) – not including their food and water – had set out on the march on 13 July 2013. Setting out the basic circumstances of the training exercise, Hunt said 78 soldiers carrying backpacks weighing at least 22kg (49lb) – not including their food and water – had set out on the march. Of those, 37 were army reservists like those who subsequently died.
Of those, 37 were army reservists like those who subsequently died. The march covered 16.4 miles, with five checkpoints. The candidates had to complete the test within eight hours and 45 minutes.
“They were engaged in a march and we will hear evidence in relation to the fact it ended up being one of hottest days of that year, with temperatures predicted to reach 27C (80.6F),” she said. Hunt said the hearing would explore issues including how the exercise was planned, what checks were made about the weather, emergency procedures and what water was available.
Hunt added: “We’ll hear there were different routes to the march, so people were allocated to either the red, black, green or orange [routes] and the test march covered 26.4km (16.4 miles), with five checkpoints. It will look at whether the exercise should have been aborted and consider whether a GPS system for tracking soldiers was working and being properly monitored.
“Candidates were expected to carry a rucksack weighing no less than 49lb, not including food and water, and had GPS trackers. Relatives of the three men who died described motivated and fit men.
“We’re going to hear evidence that a number of soldiers became unwell during this march. Bryher Dunsby, the widow of James, said he was an intelligence analyst for the Ministry of Defence and a highly experienced army medic who had worked as a reservist in Australia and the UK.
“Later on in the test there was concern raised for all three of the deceased.” She said he was exceptionally fit and had increased the already high tempo of his training regime when he decided to try to join the special forces. “When he decided to put himself forward for this, everything ramped up considerably,” she said.
Roberts, 24, from Penrhyn Bay, Conwy, was pronounced dead on the mountainside, while Maher and Dunsby, both 31, were taken to hospital. Ms Dunsby said he had served in Helmand with the British army and knew very well the importance of drinking enough water during hot conditions. She said he had “loved” the army and wanted to “join the best of the best”. When she last saw him a few days before he died, he was, she said “on exceptional form”.
Maher died three hours later in Merthyr Tydfil’s Prince Charles hospital, while Dunsby, from Bath, Somerset, was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, where he died on 30 July. Maher’s father, also Edward, also painted a picture of an experienced reservist. Maher, a charity worker, had previously worked in covert surveillance with special forces in Iraq, Afghanistan and east Africa.
Speaking at the start of an inquest at Solihull Council House which is expected to take four weeks, Hunt said the hearing would explore various facets of how the exercise was conducted and whether there was timely intervention in the dead soldiers’ welfare. He said his son had been “superbly fit” but had mainly trained for the special forces exercise in cold weather. He told the inquest that it would have been normal for an athlete to acclimatise – and believed that not doing this was a “major contributing factor” in his death.
She said the inquest would look at how the exercise was planned, the briefing given to the directing staff, and risk assessments. Maher said his son had an “acute sense of honour” and said he hoped the MoD would adopt an “honourable approach” in uncovering the facts.
Hunt added that it would hear evidence of what checks were made about the weather, on what was forecast to be the hottest day of the year. The inquest is likely to last four weeks. Many witnesses will give evidence from behind a screen and be identified only by letters and numbers. The SAS has not been directly referred to during the hearing – the phrase being used is specialist military units.
Evidence would also be heard on “whether the assessment route should have been reconsidered in light of the weather forecast, what procedures were in place in case of an emergency and what water was available and whether it was sufficient”. The statement from Roberts’s mother revealed her son, a teaching assistant at the time of his death, had been a reservist in the elite Parachute Regiment. It said: “He wanted to be the best he could be.” He believed special forces were the “best of the best”. Ms Roberts said the family was concerned he would be sent somewhere dangerous. “It didn’t occur to us to worry about the training,” she said.
Other questions being addressed, said Hunt, was whether the exercise should have been aborted, identifying whether a GPS system for tracking soldiers was working and being properly monitored, and whether the emergency response was timely and adequate.
The inquest had originally been due to take place at the end of last year. However, the hearing was delayed for eight months to allow the Crown Prosecution Service to review its decision not to bring criminal charges of gross negligence manslaughter over the deaths.
The CPS has since confirmed its original decision not to prosecute was correct.
The inquest continues.