- Connor Clark’s body was found on the tracks in Lympstone, Devon, on June 12, 2021.
- The 18-year-old, from Norfolk, had completed the third of his four-week training.
A Royal Marines instructor told a new recruit who was later found dead on a railway track that his superiors had given him “so many chances” after making mistakes, an inquest has heard.
Connor Clark was just weeks into his military career when his body was discovered on the tracks adjacent to the Commando Training Center in Lympstone, Devon, on the morning of June 12, 2021.
The 18-year-old, from Norfolk, had completed the third of his four-week recruit orientation phase (ROP) course that all Marines take before beginning their initial training.
The investigation in Exeter found that Mr Clark failed a couple of kit inspections, but was re-inspected by an officer and passed, but was then stopped by an instructor for an error during drill training.
He had also made comments about being a “failure” and the “worst recruit” and had also misplaced a blank adapter for his rifle.
Marine Charles Dryden, who had taken the ROP course with Mr Clark, told the inquest that a corporal had criticized his friend.
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“We were learning the basics of marching,” Marine Dryden said.
‘During this, Connor made a mistake and the instructor said that if he had wanted to, he wouldn’t have given him so many chances with the previous inspections and would have put him back at the start of training. However, it was not his decision.
“This was not an outing from Connor and the instructor had said similar things to other recruits who had made mistakes.”
The witness, who is now a member of the 47th Commando, said some of the instructors could yell and insult the recruits if they made mistakes, but they also joked.
The inquest previously heard that two days before Mr Clark’s death he had gone to the infirmary seeking treatment for an elbow injury.
He told medical staff that he had initially cut his elbow when he fell against a radiator, but then used a knife to reopen the wound and avoid tasks.
After his wound was bandaged, he returned to training, where one of the instructors asked him why he had been in the infirmary, prompting the lesson to be taught again.
“Connor responded that he was going to put in his token anyway,” Marine Dryden said.
“The instructor responded, ‘As long as you’re here and getting paid, you’ll learn what I’m going to teach you.'”
The investigation found that the other recruits were helping Mr. Clark find the blank adapter for his rifle because they did not want to receive physical punishment from the troops, known as a “beating.”
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“I don’t disagree that you can’t go to an instructor and get a new one, but I definitely agree that at the time there would have been repercussions for losing that equipment,” Marine Dryden said.
‘As I remember, other recruits said they would help him find him and wouldn’t say anything due to the idea that the whole troop would be hit and potentially lose the weekend leave we were due to have on Saturday.
“I think there was always a fear that it would potentially not be granted if the rules were not met.”
He also rejected claims that there was a “hostile environment” among the recruits and did not recall any physical confrontations.
“It was a high-pressure environment and there was the stress of the course, but I don’t remember any physical confrontations,” he said.
The witness said he was shocked by his friend’s death, having only spoken to him the night before about his plans to continue with the training course.
“At the time I didn’t think Connor would have taken his life because he was missing at the time, I personally thought it was a cry for help,” he said.
‘I guess it’s hard to believe that a person I spoke to the night before did that and seemed fine the night before.
“Obviously everyone was saddened by Connor’s death, but we agreed that we didn’t necessarily attribute it to the corporals harassing him or anything like that.”
The investigation continues.
