The mother of a young Perth soldier who was based at Deepcut army barracks says she is still hopeful of a public inquiry into the death of her son and three other recruits.
Yvonne Heath (formerly Collinson) who has penned a book to be released on Thursday, entitled A Mother’s War told The Courier that it may take time to get answers and that writing the book was very emotional.
Her son, James, died from a single gunshot wound to the head near a perimeter fence at Deepcut on March 23 2002.
The families of Private James Collinson and Privates Sean Benton, Cheryl James and Geoff Gray have fought a long-standing campaign to have a public inquiry into the deaths of the four recruits which took place at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002.
Mrs Heath’s book not only provides a fascinating insight into the loss felt by a mother of her beloved son, but also details how she claims she was abused as a child by a relative and her early life in Perth.
Last night she said writing the book wasn’t easy, and admitted she had a “stumbling block” when she recalled her son’s tragic death.
“Sometimes I couldn’t see the computer screen for the tears as I had to relive the whole thing again,” she said. “I’ll never give up trying to get a public inquiry. I think the public think Deepcut is done and dusted but there’s still so many unanswered questions.
“We still have a legal team working away with the Surrey Police investigation files and we’re getting there step by step. If we got inquests into the other deaths a public inquiry might be recommended.”
In her book, Mrs Heath, 46, describes how she left the phone to ring as she was enjoying a “rare lie-in” but heard “great anxiety” in the voice of her former husband, Jim Collinson.
She says she didn’t believe her son was dead at first, having seen him the day before at Deepcut. And she gives details of her shock at seeing his body at a Surrey hospital.
“I don’t think anything in the world can properly prepare you for identifying the dead body of your child,” she says. “The first thing that hit me when I saw his face was that he had black eyes. Had he been in a fight?
“I had this overriding feeling of numbness, quite possibly caused by the shock of seeing my son lying dead before me. I had wanted to give my James a final kiss goodbye, but I never did. When I touched his face, it felt cold and damp. He didn’t feel real any more.”
The book reveals how Mr Collinson privately examined his son’s body at a Perth funeral home and found “unusual marks” on his neck and scratches on the back of his hands.
Mrs Heath says in the book: “The suspicion that something untoward may have happened to James was making it difficult to grieve properly for him. Things weren’t adding up.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said there are no plans for a further inquiry into the deaths at Deepcut.