Soldier found dead by colleague in Windsor, inquest hears

An inquest into L/Cpl Robinson's death is being held in Reading

A soldier has described the moment he found one of his colleagues hanged in their Army barracks.

L/Cpl Joel Robinson had been serving with the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment when he died at Combermere Barracks in Windsor on 25 March 2019.

At an inquest in Reading, L/Cpl Adam Cannon said he attempted to give CPR to the 24-year-old in a common room of their accommodation block.

But he said it was "pretty clear" little could be done to save him.

Giving evidence, L/Cpl Cannon said he had woken up in the early hours, before he and a colleague discovered the soldier.

He said: "To be honest from my point of view it was pretty clear he already died however I felt at the time it was best to conduct CPR."

A paramedic, who arrived at the scene at 03:29 GMT, said it was unlikely effective CPR was given to L/Cpl Robinson by his colleague due to the "unorthodox" position he had been laid in.

The soldier was declared dead at the scene at 03:35.

L/Cpl Joel Robinson was found dead in a common room at Combermere Barracks in Windsor

A pathologist determined the cause of death was asphyxia due to hanging, and a toxicology report found he had a large amount of alcohol in his blood.

Det Con Robert Gibson said police did not consider there were any suspicious circumstances around the death or third party involvement.

His friend Gareth Williams said L/Cpl Robinson had attended a barbeque at his home on the night of 24 March 2019, before he dropped him back to his barracks around 02:30.

"I didn't sense there was anything wrong with Joel," he told the inquest.

He added his friend had expressed concern in the past about being passed over for promotion.

Ministry of Defence civil servant James Greenrod told the court a suicide register, which the military hopes will help it better understand the causes of soldier suicides, will be operational in the next few months.

The inquest is set to conclude on Friday.