Decorated soldier takes his own life ‘after being ordered to return to army’

The mum of a decorated soldier says her son would still be alive if he hadn’t been ‘ordered’ back to barracks.

25-year-old Charlie Owen took his own life at the Combermere Barracks in Windsor on September 11, 2023 – just six days after a previous attempt.

His grieving mum, Tracy Evans, said his condition had improved after returning home on sick leave following that first attempt, but he was ‘ordered’ to return to the barracks without enough explanation.

Charlie was ‘left alone’ in his room on the night he returned to Combermere, and his body was found the next morning.

Following the inquest into Charlie’s death, Berkshire assistant coroner Robert Simpson said in a Prevention of Future Deaths report that ‘not all relevant information was shared and considered when plans were made for his return’.

He raised concerns that the British Army does not have mandatory suicide prevention training for army welfare officers or NCOs, and said the Army should take action to prevent future deaths.

Tracy said Charlie had ‘visibly checked out’ after being ordered back to base from the family home in Meidrim, Wales.

‘Charlie’s death was totally avoidable. He should have never been called back to camp in the condition he was in,’ she said.

‘If he didn’t he wouldn’t have done this – that is what the whole family believe.

‘The one reason he had stopped suicide attempts before was because of his family. I know he wouldn’t have done it if he stayed with us.

‘They completely ignored this even though they knew he would probably try again if he was made to go back.

‘Even when he left the house he just looked at me for the last time and I believe now he knew he was not seeing me again. He never said goodbye the way he normally did.

‘We just knew from the way he was acting he had given up hope. We tried to say if you go back perhaps they’ll just sign you off and send you straight back home and it was a formality.

‘We didn’t know he was just going back to work otherwise we would never have let him go.

‘He hadn’t been told it was for an assessment or anything like that. They had not communicated to say he was doing anything other than work.’

Charlie, a lance corporal in the Welsh Guards, had served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan before his mental health began to deteriorate in August 2023.

Earlier this month, coroner Robert Simpson concluded a decision to call the solider back to the Army, following his aborted suicide attempts, combined with the failure to properly assess and manage risks of self-harm ‘may possibly have contributed to his death’.

The decorated soldier, who had received a King’s Coronation Medal and a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for his service during tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, had wanted to leave the Army for some time, his mother said.

Chalie was first deployed to Afghanistan when he was just 18.

Tracy added: ‘He was only 18 and came from a little quiet village where nothing goes on and then going straight into something like that. He had not really experienced anything.

‘It was a really big thing for a young boy who lived in a village and he had to grow up fast. He once told me a bomb had gone off in camp and he tried to shrug it off but I know that scares Charlie.

‘I knew that frightened him the way he said it. I was a nervous wreck the whole time he was there.

‘It was after his second tour to Iraq that we all noticed a marked difference. He was completely not Charlie after that.’

Charlie returned from his Iraq tour in August 2023.

‘For the last couple of years he hated everything about the army and was going downhill,’ Tracy said.

“There must have been something that triggered it. I don’t know if it was from Afghan but there was a slow gradual decline in him.

‘Every time he came home he said it just got worse and worse and he just desperately wanted to leave.

‘Lots were leaving and one of his really close friends had committed suicide. That really affected him and hit him hard.’

Tracy said he had filled out a termination form just before he passed away but felt he couldn’t leave as there weren’t enough corporals, adding that Charlie ‘felt trapped’.

Charlie saw a doctor with the Army not long after taking part in an exercise ahead of deployment to America and returning home on leave.

Tracy said: ‘The doctor was fantastic and really believed in him – but then it all went wrong as the Army didn’t support him.

‘He came back home and the doctor told Charlie the Army was not the best place for him. He thought he would be medically discharged and stay at home.

‘He was a different person and it was just like having old Charlie back when he thought he was leaving and not going back to camp.

‘It was like someone turned a light bulb on – he was so happy and had that glimmer of hope and thought finally someone believed him and wanted to help.

‘He then had a phone call on zoom from a nurse who assessed him and he came off saying “she doesn’t believe me and is going to make me go back to work”.

‘He went downhill massively and there was a marked change in him – he didn’t eat from that phone call onwards.

‘We phoned the colonel and he just said it was out of his hands and nothing he could do. He said the Army doctor was going to look after him now.’

Tracy is calling for Army staff to receive better suicide prevention training.

She explained: ‘They need to be trained to look for signs – they don’t know what signs are. Charlie was good at covering up but you could spot it.

‘I am so cross with the Army – the way they acted was ridiculous and they are definitely to blame for his death.

‘It has been a horrendous time and I’ve still not gone back to work. It has just been devastating and has affected the whole family.

‘I know Charlie was an adult but at the same time he was vulnerable and I don’t think he had anywhere near the support he needed.’

An Army spokesperson said: ‘Our thoughts and sympathies remain with the family and friends of Lance Corporal Charlie Owen at this sad and difficult time.

‘Charlie served his country with pride and dedication and we’re conscious of the profound effect his loss has had – and continues to have – on his loved ones and his many military friends and colleagues.

‘We acknowledge and respect the assistant coroner for Berkshire’s findings and will ensure any shortcomings highlighted are carefully assessed.’

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