Jemma Neilson speaks after inquest into deaths of her husband and a colleague

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The widow of one of two soldiers killed when a tank exploded during a live firing exercise in the UK has called for changes to make sure such a tragedy never happens again.

Jemma Neilson, whose husband, Cpl Darren Neilson, was killed alongside Cpl Matthew Hatfield, called for lessons to learned and said no other British military personnel should die in training.

Neilson and Hatfield, both of the Royal Tank Regiment (RTR), suffered fatal injuries in the explosion in their Challenger 2 at the Castlemartin ranges, Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales, in June last year.

Senior coroner Louise Hunt said the main cause of the incident was that the tank had fired when a key component in the gun barrel called the BVA – which forms an air-tight seal – was missing. It allowed gases with an estimated temperature of 2,500C back into the tank, which is believed to have caused the ignition of explosive charges used to fire the gun.

The coroner said: “The main cause of this incident was the tank being able to fire without the BVA assembly being present. During production and manufacture of the gun, this hazard was not adequately considered or investigated and therefore the ability of the gun to fire without the BVA present went undetected.”

Hunt concluded that other issues that contributed included a lack of written procedures for soldiers to follow when handling the BVA and passing on tanks to new crews.

The inquest also heard that four of tank’s high-explosive ammunition bags that propel the shell out of the tank’s barrel, were incorrectly stowed. Hunt said: “The practice of unstowed charges was routine.”

After the inquest, Ms Neilson, said health and safety should have been “world class” and called for immediate changes.

She said: “No soldier should ever be killed in training. Lessons must be learned, cultures must change and the MoD must accept failings and implement change immediately. An incident of this nature must never happen again.”

Neilson added that the coroner’s findings had ruled out any suggestion that the two “highly professional” soldiers may have been “showing off”, as one witness claimed.

Clare Stevens, of Hilary Meredith Solicitors, who represented Ms Neilson, said: “Yet again we’ve heard of systemic failings within the MoD and more evidence of a organisation which does not appear to value safety.

“This was an accident waiting to happen and the events of 14 June 2017 provided the perfect storm through a catalogue of failings.”

Hatfield’s fiancee, Jill McBride, speaking on behalf of herself and the soldier’s wife, Abi Hatfield, from whom he was separated, said a “weight has been lifted”.

She added: “It was important to us to make sure the reputation of both Matthew and Darren was protected and remained true.”

The inquest in Solihull, West Midlands, was told that the pair had been asked to provide a “guest shoot” to warrant officer Stuart Lawson, who worked at Castlemartin. He was to be given the chance to experience what it was like to be in the Challenger 2 and fire its main gun at three old tanks, nicknamed Tom, Dick and Harry, which were used as targets.



Lawson, who survived the incident, described how Neilson, the tank commander, told him: “Yeah, we’re good to go. We’re on the target. Pull the trigger.”

“I remember a really distinctive sound,” Lawson told the inquest. “It sounded like a pop and a fizz. It was like a sound you hear before a grenade goes off.”

Lawson suffered burns and lost fingers and an ear. Witnesses told how smoke and fire – described by one witness as looking like a fighter jet’s afterburners on take-off – poured out of the tank.

The men’s commanding officer, Lt Col Simon Ridgway, said he had not spotted the culture of charges being wrongly stored. Asked if it was a failure of his leadership, Ridgway, said: “I think I failed to identify it was happening. I’m not sure it’s a failure of leadership.”

After the inquest on Tuesday, ColJim Taylor, of the British army, said it had already overhauled training but would look at “what further changes need to be made”.



He added: “We are sincerely sorry for what has happened and we will do everything we can to ensure this never happens again.”