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Private Cheryl James’s body has been exhumed and bullet fragments recovered
for a ballistics expert to analyse ahead of a fresh inquest into her
death
The father of a soldier whose body was exhumed before a fresh inquest into
the murky circumstances surrounding her death has issued an emotional appeal for
anyone with relevant evidence to come forward.
Private Cheryl James was was one of four soldiers who died from shotgun wounds at the Surrey barracks between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse.
At a pre-inquest review at Woking coroner’s court on Thursday, coroner Brian Barker QC said Pte James’s body was exhumed at the family’s request and bullet fragments were recovered for a ballistics expert to analyse.
Barker said the procedure took place on 10 August and James, who was from Llangollen, north Wales, was reburied after a short ceremony with the close family present.
Her father Des James, said is had been a “distressing time” for the family and urged people - including ex-military personnel to assist with the inquiry.
“The thing I feel most strongly about is that there are still lots of people with evidence to give who have not yet come forward to this inquest,” he said.
“The Coroner gave an assurance that the Official Secrets Act is highly unlikely to be an issue for anyone with relevant evidence to give and this includes serving or past service personnel.
“I am speaking directly to those people now. Please, please if you have anything relevant to say regarding Cheryl’s untimely death, take this as our final opportunity for us to discover what really happened to her.”
High court judges ordered a new inquest into the 18-year-old’s death after they quashed an open verdict recorded in December 1995. In the wake of the decision, James’s family urged the new coroner to exhume her body for further testing.
James was undergoing initial training when she died in November 1995. Three others – Sean Benton, 20, James Collinson, 17, and Geoff Gray, 17 – also died from gunshot wounds over the four-year period.
The full inquest on 1 February, which is expected to last seven weeks, will consider whether a third party was involved in James’s death and what happened on the evening before she died.
It will also address whether there were shortcomings with barrack policies on sexual behaviour, supervision of young females, drugs, alcohol and accommodation, the hearing was told.
James, a recruit with the Royal Logistic Corps when she died, had been posted, alone and armed with an SA80 rifle, to guard a gate known as A2 at Royal Way on 27 November 1995.
Lawyers representing James’s family have previously claimed bullet fragments in her body were yellow, when the SA80 rifle she was armed with used red bullets.
She was found at about 8.30am close to the gate in a small wooded area surrounded by trees, with a bullet wound to the front of her head and no other signs of injury.
On the day of her death James was reported to be in good spirits, and in the preceding weeks had been described as “cheerful, happy and content”.
Private Cheryl James was was one of four soldiers who died from shotgun wounds at the Surrey barracks between 1995 and 2002 amid claims of bullying and abuse.
At a pre-inquest review at Woking coroner’s court on Thursday, coroner Brian Barker QC said Pte James’s body was exhumed at the family’s request and bullet fragments were recovered for a ballistics expert to analyse.
Barker said the procedure took place on 10 August and James, who was from Llangollen, north Wales, was reburied after a short ceremony with the close family present.
Her father Des James, said is had been a “distressing time” for the family and urged people - including ex-military personnel to assist with the inquiry.
“The thing I feel most strongly about is that there are still lots of people with evidence to give who have not yet come forward to this inquest,” he said.
“The Coroner gave an assurance that the Official Secrets Act is highly unlikely to be an issue for anyone with relevant evidence to give and this includes serving or past service personnel.
“I am speaking directly to those people now. Please, please if you have anything relevant to say regarding Cheryl’s untimely death, take this as our final opportunity for us to discover what really happened to her.”
High court judges ordered a new inquest into the 18-year-old’s death after they quashed an open verdict recorded in December 1995. In the wake of the decision, James’s family urged the new coroner to exhume her body for further testing.
James was undergoing initial training when she died in November 1995. Three others – Sean Benton, 20, James Collinson, 17, and Geoff Gray, 17 – also died from gunshot wounds over the four-year period.
The full inquest on 1 February, which is expected to last seven weeks, will consider whether a third party was involved in James’s death and what happened on the evening before she died.
It will also address whether there were shortcomings with barrack policies on sexual behaviour, supervision of young females, drugs, alcohol and accommodation, the hearing was told.
James, a recruit with the Royal Logistic Corps when she died, had been posted, alone and armed with an SA80 rifle, to guard a gate known as A2 at Royal Way on 27 November 1995.
Lawyers representing James’s family have previously claimed bullet fragments in her body were yellow, when the SA80 rifle she was armed with used red bullets.
She was found at about 8.30am close to the gate in a small wooded area surrounded by trees, with a bullet wound to the front of her head and no other signs of injury.
On the day of her death James was reported to be in good spirits, and in the preceding weeks had been described as “cheerful, happy and content”.
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