Soldiers condemn army chiefs over ‘suicide pandemic’

Tragedy fear after two more sudden deaths at barracks

SOLDIERS fear there is a “pandemic of suicide” at an Army barracks housing 13,000 troops.

Alarming messages shared at Catterick Garrison, North Yorks, claim cries for help are “falling on deaf ears”.

They were revealed after the sudden deaths of two soldiers within 48 hours of each other last weekend.

Highlander Nicholas Hart, 33, an Iraq and Afghanistan War veteran serving with the fourth battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland, was discovered in his room.

Private Thamir Mbarushimana, 18 – who had been at the Infantry Training Centre only a matter of months – was found dead by railway tracks in Wythenshawe, Manchester.

Cause of death has not been officially confirmed in either case.

Eight Catterick-based soldiers have died suddenly or by suicide since 2018. They include bullying victim Lance Cpl Bernie Mongan, 33, who lay dead inside his room for almost three weeks before being found.

Twice as many soldiers have died since 2018 than the four sudden deaths over seven years at the notorious Deepcut barracks in Surrey.

SHAMBLES

The latest deaths led to a series of WhatsApp messages, which were passed to the Sunday Mirror by the worried wife of one soldier.

One read: “Suicide Pandemic in this camp. Clearly not enough being done or cries for help falling on deaf ears.”

Another said: “No doubt we’ll have a brief about mental wellbeing, saying ‘Look out for one another’, when the reality is all they have done each time is just post contact numbers and say don’t be afraid to speak up.”

The partner of one soldier called the camp a “complete shambles” adding: “There is no duty of care. You can see from the messages that the chain of command just pays lip service to mental health issues. My husband says many of the younger soldiers sit around on their beds bored stiff during the day and get drunk at night. He feels like he is in a flatshare with unemployed people. There needs to be some sort of investigation.”

Soldiers from 4Scots were told of the death of colleague Nicholas in an online message to battalion members.

The commanding officer’s message said the soldier had been found in his room by duty staff at 5am on February 5. It added: “If anyone needs to talk things through or find helpful information about dealing with negative or intrusive thoughts, please get in touch via numbers below.” Dad-ofthree Lance Cpl Mongan died in 2020. A probe found Bernie, born in Bristol and raised in Ireland, was failed by the chain of command.

A postmortem failed to establish cause of death and an inquest has been opened and adjourned.

His former wife, Bethany Grace, said: “It is very upsetting to learn that so many soldiers have died unnecessarily since Bernie died. I’m hugely concerned no lessons appear to have been learned. How many soldiers need to die before the MoD starts to treat mental health with the importance it deserves?”

Geoff Gray’s son, Geoff junior, was 17 when he died at Deepcut in 2001 from gunshots wounds to the head.

The dad said: “The tragic news of more deaths at Catterick shows no lessons have been learnt from Deepcut. It would appear, once again, no one is listening and the band of brothers failed their own.”

The Army has revealed Highlander

Hart was recently baptised. In a statement the force added: “His constant professionalism, pride and friendly demeanour made him an obvious choice to help with recruiting.

“He took to the job with ease, and recruiting in the farthest reaches of Scotland he found that his thick Welsh accent proved to be an asset, as people would be drawn to him.

“Always smiling, his lighthearted nature and warmth could fill a room.

“He cared deeply for friends and family and will be sorely missed.”

Catterick is home to several Army units, including 4Scots, 1Yorks, the Royal Signals, Military Intelligence Units and the Royal Lancers.

An MoD spokesman said: said: “It is with great sadness we can confirm the death of Highlander Nicholas Hart and Pte Thamir Mbarushimana in Manchester.

“Our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time.”

The MoD was approached for comment on the WhatsApp claims.