A veteran with mental health problems won’t get help they need

taking their own life but people should not be surprised. I know a veteran with mental health problems is not going to get the help they deserve.

“If coroners began recording veterans’ deaths the MOD would be forced to accept there was a problem and have to do something.

“It is a major failing. I will ensure the coroner who presides over my husband’s inquest is told he was a veteran. We need a far more joined-up approach to veterans’ mental health care.

“At the moment charities and agencies seem to be acting independently and that’s how people get missed.” Veterans and soldiers from a variety of regiments, ranks and experience have taken their own lives this year. On October 14, in separate incidents, two service men were found hanged. L/cpl Karl Parker, 23, from the Army Air Corps, died in Swindon, Wilts, after a night out. Sapper Louis Kelly, 20, from the Royal Engineers, was found hanging in his room at barracks in Perham Down, Wilts. Earlier this year Jarryd Wingfield, 27, of 1st Battalion The Rifles, killed himself after fighting depression for months. John Paul Finnigan and Kevin Williams served together on the front line in Iraq with The Rifles but struggled with PTSD after leaving the Army.

In March, Rifleman Williams took his life at the age of 29.

Twelve weeks later Rifleman Finnigan, 34, also killed himself.

His brother Steven, 28, said: “He joined the Army because he wanted structure in his life.

“When he was discharged he used to taxi injured soldiers to hospitals all around the country.

“It just tormented him. Not enough was done to help him.”

In July Private Reece Miller, 28, of the Yorkshire Regiment shot himself in the head in front of comrades hours after arriving in Estonia on a Nato mission. Marine Alex Tostevin, 28, a member of the Special Boat Service, was found dead inside his top secret base at Poole in Dorset. He is believed to have hanged himself.

He was awarded a Mention in Dispatches in Afghanistan after firing his machine gun in Sangin, Helmand Province, in 2010 after being shot in the head enabling two other troops to escape Taliban gunmen.

Jamie “Delta” Davies, 32, an ex Army sniper, who detailed his PTSD struggle on Facebook, took his life in August. A Government spokesman said it takes the welfare of service staff seriously. He said: “The Chief Coroner has given coroners clearer guidance so deaths, including suicide, are recorded more consistently. “The MOD encourages veterans to identify themselves as such when registering with their NHS GP for treatment.”

Voice of the Sunday People: P14