Female corporal punched teenage recruits
Army boxer hit recruits in stomach if they answered incorrectly but court told it was ‘bonding and banter’
A FEMALE British Army corporal punched teenage recruits as “banter,” a court martial has heard.
Kimberley Hey of the Royal Logistic Corps ordered trainees who answered questions incorrectly in tests to raise their arms and loosen their belt buckles before hitting them in the stomach.
The 34-year-old, who has boxed throughout her Army career, subjected soldiers half her age, male and female and all under 18, to regular punches during training.
One male was once hit so hard in the gut he was “winded” and began crying, the court heard.
She also reportedly told junior recruits “you’re mine now, bitches” before demanding to know “who thinks they’re hardest?” and then punching those who claimed they were.
However, Cpl Hey has insisted her actions were “banter” and amounted to “bonding” with her fellow soldiers.
Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard Cpl Hey worked as part of the Directing Staff at Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
Junior soldiers undergo training at AFC Harrogate for around six months, split into three terms of around six weeks. Signaller Hannah Harwood, who gave evidence via videolink from the Falkland Islands, spoke of multiple incidents which occurred on “the company line” – a line running down a corridor at the base along which recruits would form up.
She said: “Cpl Hey addressed the platoon at the beginning of the first term, when we first arrived.
“We were all standing on the company lines in the corridor. She said something along the lines of “you’re mine now, bitches”.
“At the start of the second term Cpl Hey addressed the platoon again. She asked us ‘who thinks they’re hardest?’.
“Three people put their hands up and Cpl Hey punched them all in the stomach. Cpl Hey walked towards [one recruit who put his hand up] and punched him, and I saw it land in his gut out of the corner of my eye – it was a quick, powerful punch.”
Prosecuting, Wg Cdr Michael Saunders explained Cpl Hey would “dish out” punches to the gut when soldiers got their answers wrong.
Wg Cdr Saunders said: “Cpl Hey was an instructor at AFC Harrogate over the relevant period.
“The soldiers were all under the age of 18 at the time, and they were at AFC Harrogate for about six months.
“Cpl Hey would often dish out a punch to the stomach as a form of punishment if they got an answer wrong on a test. Cpl Hey had no business behaving in this way.”
Craftsman Joseph Wiggin told the court that Cpl Hey had punched “everyone in the platoon” on their first day in training – when he was just 16 years old – but insisted it was part of “bonding” in the platoon.
Craftsman Jonathan Bryan told the court: “Cpl Hey gave me a jab in the stomach on one occasion. She was strict but fair.”
Cpl Hey, of 3rd Regiment Royal Logistics Corps, denies eight counts of battery involving five junior soldiers.
The trial continues.