The mother of a soldier who was shot dead by a 'short-sighted' colleague during a training exercise is demanding answers over her son's death. Sergeant Gavin Hillier, 35, from the Welsh Guards, was killed during a night exercise at the Castlemartin rifle range in Pembrokeshire on March 4, 2021, when he was mistaken for a target by a fellow soldier who was not wearing his contact lenses.
The father-of-two, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, died almost instantly after the soldier, referred to as Guardsman 1, fired the fatal shot. A Service Inquiry report previously revealed that the soldier's vision was so poor he was initially refused entry into the Welsh Guards and was only subsequently allowed to join after being issued with corrective lenses and reassessed.
Five years on from Sgt Hillier's death, a full inquest into his death has yet to take place. His mother, Karen Selway, said they had been repeatedly 'let down' by delays to the coroner's investigation. She added that one of Sgt Hillier's children has become an adult in the time it has taken to get answers over his death.
Ms Selway told the coroner that they could not wait another year for an inquest to take place. She said: 'As a family we have been patient and allowed you to do your job. We have been let down four times with dates. Please can we have this done this year not next year? We appreciate that people have things to do but as a family we really do need a conclusion to this. I want to be here for my son's inquest. I want this please to be done this year. As a family, my grandchild is now 18, they were 12 when this happened. I think we have been through enough. We were promised that in 2024 we would have a date. It's not acceptable. I am not happy with it going into next year.'
Pembrokeshire Coroner Gareth Lewis said he was unable to provide a definitive date for the final inquest but told Sgt Hillier's family that it would be during a window between October 5 this year and January 29, 2027.
A report into his death said that because of the rules of medical confidence, Army medics could not inform Guardsman 1's chain of command that he needed to wear glasses. It said it was his responsibility to inform his superiors about his sight issues.
Sgt Hillier served a distinguished career, deploying on operations in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2019, he was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct medal by King Charles. The Welsh Guards at the time dubbed Sergeant Hillier a 'stalwart' who had displayed 'the highest standards of behaviour' since joining the forces.
Sgt Hillier was acting as a safety supervisor when he was killed in March 2021. He had been wearing a high-visibility fluorescent yellow jacket and a red glowstick was strapped to the back of his helmet. He was also wearing body armour. But the report made clear that the soldier who shot dead Sgt Hillier could not distinguish between him and a wooden training target. It added that the guardsman's uncorrected eyesight 'meant that, to see the same level of detail as a normally-sighted person, he would need to be three times closer if using both eyes, or six times closer using just their right eye'.
'On the night of March 4, 2021, Guardsman 1 was not wearing corrective lenses and so his binocular vision would have seen Sgt Hillier, who was 143m away, in the same level of detail as someone with normal vision would have seen him at 429m,' the report said. 'With their right eye (the eye used to aim and fire the rifle) this would have increased to 858m.'
Guardsman 1 had been in the Army for 18 months but was relatively inexperienced in live-firing attacks on battle ranges. The report said there were 14 factors that led to Sgt Hillier's death and made 20 recommendations to prevent a similar accident taking place again. The Health and Safety Executive is also carrying out an investigation.
A probe by the Ministry of Defence found that 'not wearing their prescribed corrective lenses significantly impacted' the fellow member of the Welsh Guards' 'ability to identify, acquire and subsequently engage the correct target'.
Following her husband's death, Sgt Hillier's widow, Karyn, and sons Declan and Connor released a heartbreaking statement: 'I thank you for the day you came into my life and made me your wife and became the father to our two beautiful boys. We are absolutely heartbroken and can't express how proud we are of you. Our boys will continue to make you proud and you will forever live on through them. Daddy, we are not ready to say goodbye just yet so until we meet again, we love you always. Love, your heartbroken wife and boys.'
The sergeant's heartbroken father said his son died doing the 'job he loved'. He wrote in a social media post: 'Absolutely devastated to be writing this post, probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do. At 3.45 this morning I received a phone call that will forever change my life. My eldest son was in a fatal accident, in the army, the job he loved. Sleep tight and rest in peace son. I'm so proud of you. Goodnight and God bless. Love your heartbroken dad.'
Then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he was 'deeply saddened' to hear of Sergeant Hillier's death. 'The dedication and distinction he demonstrated through his long Army career is evident in the testimony of those who served with him,' he added.
