Testimonies: Abuse of children in the UK armed forces training

Jasmine, then Craig, joined the Army Foundation College in autumn 2015, aged 16.

Names have been changed.

“Some soldiers in my section waterboarded us all one night, everybody in the room. They held each person down and put pants in their mouth – some clean, some not. Then they poured water in until they started choking. I consented to it, basically, ‘cause that way I thought it wouldn’t be as harsh. That was the final straw – I wanted to leave after that. The soldiers who did it got shouted at later, by the NCOs, that’s all – they all passed out into the full army.”

Read Jasmine’s full testimony here.

Joe joined the Army Foundation College in 2013, aged 16.

Joe has given CRIN permission to use his real name.

“It all kicks off about half way through the week – bayonet training day. The corporals come into the hangar where we sleep and they're wild-eyed, screaming, shoving people out. A massive sergeant lifts a recruit in the air and literally throws him into the wall. A corporal smacks me full-force around the head – I’ve got my helmet on but he hits me so hard that I’m knocked right over, I mean this man’s about 40 and I’m maybe 17 by then. A bit later, we’re crawling through mud and a corporal grabs me and drags me along the ground, half-way across a field. When he lets go I’m in that much pain that I’m whimpering on the ground. When the other corporal, the one who hit me, sees me crying on the ground, he just points at me and laughs.”

Read Joe’s full testimony here.

Kerry-Ann Knight was an instructor at the Army Foundation College between May 2021 and January 2023.

Kerry-Ann has given CRIN permission to use her real name.

“I was told that one recruit, who was the only lad of colour in his section, was forced by his then section commander to eat dog food and walked on a leash. That recruit mentioned it to a more senior member of staff of colour who had the matter reported up. I was told that the other instructors then tried to intimidate and bully that more senior member of staff, and within the next week the recruit was dismissed as unfit for military service. That's how it goes if you complain at AFC Harrogate.”

Read Kerry-Ann’s full testimony here.

Lach joined the Army Foundation College in September 2023, aged 16.

Lach’s name has been changed.

“The worst moment was when someone tried to commit suicide on exercise, a recruit who was getting bullied – they got name-called a lot. I didn’t see it myself but it wasn’t just rumours – the lieutenant commanding our section told us what happened and then later one of the education staff filled out more of the details. They had to carry them out on a stretcher – apparently the teacher saw the pictures. You'd expect it to be reported, I don’t know if it was but we didn’t hear anything more about it. You’d expect to see it in on BBC News or something. It kind of upset us all. We thought, what if that happened to one of our people in our own company? I thought, what if this happens to one of my mates?”

Read Lach’s full testimony here.

Liam joined the Army Foundation College in autumn 2013, aged 16.

Liam has given CRIN permission to use his real name.

“Then we go to battle camp [in Kirkcudbright, Scotland]. Jesus Christ, a lot went on there….

“One thing that sticks with me to this day is this lad who got absolutely hammered by the NCOs on battle camp. He was crying, and he was pleading with the NCOs, saying his leg was really hurting and he needed to stop. They just said ‘shut the fuck up’ and whacked him a bit more. We did an eight-mile tab [an overland march], and this guy was crying the entire way. When he got to the end, they went ‘what the fuck are you crying about’, and they lifted his trouser leg up, and his whole ankle and calf had gone black. Turns out they’d broken his fucking leg and made him march for eight miles on it. That’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever seen, that.”

Read Liam’s full testimony here.

Alison’s son Nathan joined the Army Foundation College in 2016, aged 16.

Alison has given CRIN permission to use her and Nathan’s real names.

“Whenever he was on leave it became increasingly difficult to get him to return to Harrogate. I would take him to the train station and by the time I arrived home Nathan wouldn't be far behind me. He was genuinely very fearful of being at Harrogate and things just got worse. There were so many occasions I would put Nathan on the train and believe he had gone back to Harrogate only to receive a phone call from staff days later asking if I knew of his whereabouts. They would inform me I had 24 hours to get him back or he would be posted AWOL. I would then have to locate him and persuade him to return but he was always so afraid of the repercussions. He didn't mind the legitimate punishments, it was the abuse he was scared of.”

Read Alison’s full testimony here.

Charlotte’s son Marc joined the Army Foundation College in 2016, aged 16.

Charlotte has given CRIN permission to use her and Marc’s real names.

“After Marc turned 17 he came home for a week or two, and it was during this time that I realised all was not well at Harrogate. I overheard several conversations with his fellow recruits discussing ‘bathroom beatings’ and ‘things going too far’. Marc also let slip he had been in several pubs, bars and clubs in Leeds, and was actively encouraged to attend strip clubs by the staff members in charge of his group.”

Read Charlotte’s full testimony here.

Kevin’s son joined the Army Foundation College in 2015, aged 16.

Kevin has given CRIN permission to use his real name.

“We had no contact with him for two days. When eventually he phoned us the line was broken and it was difficult to talk. He sent a text message, which simply said: ‘I’ll text you tomorrow night so ring on Thursday and don’t say to them that I want to leave.’ A second text message followed asking us to ‘ring up during the day saying that you want me to come home due to family matters, try to make something up because I want to come home. I miss you all too much x’.

My wife had to speak to four staff members before getting through to a Major. They prevaricated and kept asking why he should have to come home, but eventually the Major conceded and told my wife that our son would be put on a train on the Friday of the first week. We waited on Friday, but there was no contact from him until 7pm, when he said that no one had delivered the message to him to return home.”

Read Kevin’s full testimony here.