Help ‘battle-scarred’ soldiers, says coroner

THE Army has “work to do” to help returning soldiers deal with their battle scars, a coroner said yesterday after an inquest into two servicemen’s deaths.

L/cpl James Ross, 30, from Leeds, was found hanged in his room at Abercorn Barracks in Ballykinler, Co Down, on Dec 8 2012, while Rifleman Darren Mitchell, 20, from London, was also found hanged in his room at the base on Feb 10 2013.

The pair had earlier both spoken to their families about their difficulties coming to terms with what they had seen on tour in Afghanistan.

Yesterday, Joe Mccrisken, a Belfast coroner, said he was not satisfied to the required standard that L/cpl Ross intended to kill himself and ruled his death as an accident.

However, he was satisfied on the balance of probability that Rifleman Mitchell did intend to take his own life, outlining evidence including messages sent hours before his death.

Both men were serving with 2nd Bn The Rifles. Mr Mccrisken did not find the Army had failed the men and found no evidence of bullying.

He said that while some soldiers may have nicknamed the base “Bally-killyourself”, he was not satisfied that the base contributed to either death. He described the base, which has a swimming pool and golf course among other facilities, as “having the potential to be excellent”, but also noted it was isolated, with taxis to Belfast costing £50 and soldiers unable to socialise in nearby towns.

Yet he did say there was also “work to be done”, saying: “The Army needs to take steps to give soldiers confidence

‘The Army needs to ... give soldiers confidence to come forward about mental health problems’

to come forward about mental health problems without fearing an impact on their careers.”

Yesterday, Linda Ketcher, L/cpl Ross’s mother, said: “We always knew he never meant to do this, so the findings for us are right.”

She then urged the Army to “smarten up” and “get it right”.

Carol Mitchell, mother of Rifleman Mitchell, said: “Instead of Darren receiving the help he needed after returning from a difficult tour in Afghanistan, he was left isolated, exhausted and with nowhere to turn.”