Soldier was 'degraded' by superior officers before being found dead in barracks
A British soldier was 'humiliated' and 'degraded' by superior officers before he was found dead in his barracks, an inquest has heard.
Lance Corporal Bernard Mongan's decomposing body was found in his bedroom at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, on January 23, 2020 – three weeks after he was last seen.
An inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court has heard his cause of death is still 'unascertained' as decomposition made it difficult for doctors to determine.
One of L/Cpl Mongan's friends, former corporal Stephen Timmerman, told the hearing his friend 'wasn't treated the same' as other soldiers in their squadron.
He told the hearing: 'They spoke to Bernie as if he was inconsequential,' adding that he had been spoken to 'like a piece of shit' and 'degraded'.
Mr Timmerman described L/Cpl Mongan, 33, as a 'cuddly teddy bear' who may have been a 'soft target' because he was 'a nice guy who took things easier'.
He told the inquest L/Cpl Mongan had issues with two sergeants and was 'undermined' and 'come down on very harshly', saying he had been considering a service complaint.
Asked if he was bullied, Mr Timmerman said: 'I would say that was an understatement.'
He said: 'He was given tasks that he shouldn't have been given, and just the general way he was spoken to by higher ranks.
'His seniors, quite a few times, he would be left to do their work for them in his own time.'
Mr Timmerman said he could remember three occasions when L/Cpl Mongan was given a military Land Rover to clean that was not his.
He said that on a military exercise around three months before his death, L/Cpl Mongan was 'shouted and screamed at' in front of other soldiers by his own superior officers in his own department for carrying out an order from another department.
Mr Timmerman, who has since retired from the Army, said: 'It was very aggressive, very abrupt, some swearing … It was very harsh language and it wasn't his fault, he was carrying out an order he was told to do.'
Asked if he was aware one officer 'had been posting videos on a WhatsApp group of humiliations of Bernie', Mr Timmerman said: 'I didn't know about that.'
The hearing was told L/Cpl Mongan had separated from his wife and spent Christmas at another soldier's house.
L/Cpl Mongan had tried to kill himself several times and spent time at a recovery centre run by Help For Heroes, the court heard. More Trending
Former Royal Marine Jules Burnard, who struck up a friendship with him when they met at the facility, said he had last seen L/Cpl Mongan on January 1, 2020, and that he had been 'very positive' and looking forward to the detachment.
Mr Burnard said L/Cpl Mongan had opened up to him about being bullied, and how that had affected his mental health.
He told the hearing: 'He was a loveable, likeable, upbeat person. There was nothing not to like about Bernie.'
The inquest, which is scheduled to last for three weeks, continues.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: I'd enlist to fight in a war – even as a 'woke' millennial
MORE: Police officer died 'after being struck by train while helping man on railway'
MORE: Deaf woman, 25, who took her own life was 'failed' by mental health services
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
7 minutes ago
- Daily Record
BBC crew blindfolded and held at gunpoint by Israeli forces in southern Syria
The seven member team, including British correspondent Feras Kilani were told that Israeli personnel had asked questions about their identity before the incident. A BBC Arabic news crew have claimed they were detained at gunpoint by Israeli forces while reporting in southern Syria in an incident which BBC has described as "wholly unacceptable" treatment of its journalists. The seven member team, including British correspondent Feras Kilani, two Iraqi BBC staff, and four Syrian colleagues, say they travelled from Syrian capital Damascus to the southern province of Deraa, planning to head towards the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, reports the BBC. The group wanted to report from Syrian territory - now under Israeli control - following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's December declaration of indefinite Israeli presence in a demilitarised buffer zone. As they filmed near a UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) post outside al-Rafeed, the crew was told by a UN official that Israeli personnel had asked about their identity and had been told they were press from the BBC. Shortly after, as they approached the buffer zone near Quneitra, the team encountered an unguarded checkpoint flanked by Israeli Merkava tanks. Israeli soldiers observed them from a nearby tower. As the journalists began filming, a white vehicle crossed from the Israeli side with four soldiers emerging, surrounding the crew and aiming rifles at their head. Despite showing press credentials and explaining they were BBC journalists, the situation quickly escalated. The soldiers seized phones and equipment, searched the team's vehicle, and transferred them into the city of Queneitra. At a checkpoint dividing Queneitra and the occupied Golan, the crew was held for several hours. Kilani recalled one soldiers who held a rifle aimed at his head from close range while others reviewed footage from their confiscated devices. He was then forced to speak to an unidentified man over the phone, who questioned their activities in broken arabic. Later, a second group of security personnel arrived carrying blindfolds and plastic zip ties. Kilana was separated from the team and took into a derelict room for a strip search and interrogation. The officer reportedly told him he would be treated differently and without restraints . However, he was still forced to strip down to his underwear. He was asked about his family and the purpose of his reporting. Meanwhile, the other members of the team experienced similar treatment. Kilani described seeing his colleagues bound and blindfolded before they were interrogated one by one. Personal photos and data was also deleted from their devices. More than seven hours later, at around 9pm, the group was released in a remote area abouy 2km outside Quneitra. Their phone were thrown to the ground before the Israeli vehicle left. The group was left disorientated and without signal, but eventually reached a nearby village where residents directed them back to the highway. In a statement, the BBC said: "On Friday 9 May whilst filming in Southern Syria, BBC News Arabic correspondent Feras Kilani, along with two other BBC staff members and four freelance colleagues, were detained for seven hours and held at gunpoint by the Isreal Defense Forces (IDF). "The team have described how they were tied up, blindfolded, strip searched, interrogated and threatened. Their electronic devices were also taken from them and material was deleted. "The BBC strongly objects to the treatment of our staff and freelancers in this way. Despite making clear to the soldiers on multiple occasions they were working for the BBC, the behaviour they were subjected to is wholly unacceptable. "We have registered a complaint with the Israeli military but are yet to receive a response."
Powys County Times
11 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Madeleine McCann searches to end after three days scouring abandoned buildings
Investigators looking in to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are to conclude their latest searches after three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures, it is understood. Officers could be seen holding pitchforks as they combed land in an area on the outskirts of Lagos in Portugal on Thursday. Search teams of German and Portuguese police officers, as well as firefighters, used pick-axes and shovels to dig some of the undergrowth and a digger was again used to remove rubble from one of the abandoned structures at the site. The operation comes 18 years after three-year-old Madeleine disappeared from nearby Praia da Luz while on holiday with her family in 2007. The British toddler vanished after she was left sleeping while her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, went for dinner in a nearby restaurant. Personnel have spent two days focusing on one particular derelict building, using a ground-penetrating radar on the cobbled ground after clearing the area of debris and vegetation using a digger and chainsaws. British officers have not been present at the latest searches, the Metropolitan Police said. It is understood officers will conclude the searches on Thursday, Madeleine's parents are not commenting during the 'active police investigation', staff at the Find Madeleine Campaign said. German authorities requested the search as part of their continued attempts to source evidence to implicate prime suspect Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005. He is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, Brueckner was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. In 2023, investigators carried out searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz.
Powys County Times
11 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Tommy Robinson opts for jury trial after denying harassing two journalists
Political activist Tommy Robinson has opted for a jury trial after denying harassing two journalists through his social media accounts. Robinson, 42, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, pleaded not guilty to two counts of harassment causing fear of violence at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday before being released on bail. He is alleged to have harassed MailOnline journalists Andrew Young and Jacob Dirnhuber through his X account between August 5 and 7 2024. During the hearing, which lasted around 20 minutes, Robinson was told that his case could be heard at a magistrates' court but instead the defendant chose a jury trial held at a crown court. Addressing Robinson, Senior District Judge Paul Goldspring said: 'Mr Lennon I have decided that if you wanted, you can have your case at this court as the powers are sufficient but you have elected to have a jury trial as is your right. 'Your case is sent to the Crown Court sitting at Southwark where you must appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing on July 3. 'You are free to go Mr Lennon.' Wearing a cream Stone Island jacket, blue jeans and a man bag, Robinson smiled after he was bailed. Speaking outside court after the hearing, Robinson said: 'I've been given now the opportunity to have a jury trial. I've never had that. 'I want to be tried by twelve members of the British public. I want them to hear the evidence in this case.' Earlier in the hearing, the defendant spoke to confirm his date of birth and name, giving it as 'Stephen Lennon'. Of the charges, Prosecutor Ben Holt told the court: 'It is alleged that the defendant has harassed two journalists and their family members through the use of a Twitter or X account.' He added that none of the alleged harassment contained 'direct threats of violence'. The political activist arrived at the London court to a hoard of photographers and reporters, with dozens of his supporters also present. Some of those outside the building sported Union flags while others held purple placards that read: 'Stephen Yaxley-Lennon is the man. Tommy Robinson is the movement.' Many of his supporters were also present in the court's public gallery, including a man wearing a Union flag suit.
