Catterick Garrison soldier was ‘mismanaged not bullied’

The treatment of a soldier found dead in his room on a British Army base was “mismanagement” rather than bullying, an inquest has heard.

A three-week inquest is currently taking place at North Yorkshire Coroners’ Court into the death of L/Cpl Bernard Mongan, whose body was not discovered for three weeks in his barracks at Catterick Garrison in January 2020.

The inquest previously heard how the 33-year-old had been “degraded and bullied” by his superior officers, with one posting videos of his “humiliations” in a WhatsApp group.

But giving evidence on Wednesday, Sergeant Mark Middlemiss said he was reluctant to call L/Cpl Mongan’s treatment “bullying”.

Sgt Middlemiss said: “I’d describe him as a big friendly giant who was trustworthy, honest and straightforward, and would say he was mismanaged, but would not call this bullying.

“I spoke to him about his mental health as he would catastrophise, particularly over the way he felt he was being treated by the Army, as well as family issues as he was only seeing his children once a month.”

He went on to tell the court he was one of the people who found L/Cpl Mongan’s body and said he had not seen any evidence he had taken his own life as there were “no notes or empty bottles in his room that I could see”.

Sgt Middlemiss also acknowledged L/Cpl Mongan had been a “flight risk”, meaning he could be a risk to himself and potentially suicidal, but he had been getting help from the Army.

Corporal Gordon Tait, who had been friends with L/Cpl Mongan for about two and a half years, agreed there had been “mismanagement” of his issues, which had been “seen by a lot of people”.

But he told the court L/Cpl Mongan also “mismanaged himself”.

He said: “I felt like I had to look out for him as he had child-like behaviour and was not a team player, but for the most part he was a good guy.

“In the September before his death, he had had an emotional breakdown after making a mistake and became catatonic with panic at the thought of getting punished.

“I tried to console him but he was adamant he was going to get in trouble and was crying and I just felt angry that a soldier had been reduced to this.”

The court also heard L/Cpl Mongan had tried to take his own life in 2016 following the breakdown of his marriage.

Dr Edward Scott, a GP at the base’s medical centre, said L/Cpl Mongan had booked an appointment to see him on 16 October 2019, where he spoke about his mental health.

He said: “He told me he had drunk a one litre bottle of whiskey on 14 October and had a low mood and fleeting thoughts of suicide, due to stresses including arguing with his manager, and he said he was accused of lying.

“He also told me about the trauma of a house fire in 2015, which his wife and children had escaped from – but he was still ruminating about it.

“But there was no immediate concern of suicidal ideation as he had good eye contact, his speech was normal and he looked presentable.

“He felt like he didn’t want to be there, but that can mean a range of things, from suicidal ideation to just wanting to go on holiday.”

The inquest continues.