A recruit who was getting bullied at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate attempted to kill himself while on exercise as others watched, according to a whistleblower.
The teenager, who was called names because of the way he looked, fired two shots at himself in November last year.
They were blank rounds but the injuries were so severe he allegedly had to be carried onto a stretcher by other recruits and evacuated by helicopter.
A military source confirmed to The Times that the incident had taken place and said fellow recruits were assessed for signs of trauma after it occurred.
It is understood the teenager was discharged from the army on medical grounds.
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The whistleblower’s testimony is part of a wider investigation carried out by the Child Rights International Network (CRIN) which believes there to be an “ingrained culture of abuse” by instructors at the college, which is rated “outstanding” by Ofsted.
Testimony from former recruits, parents and a former instructor described routine humiliation and frequent physical abuse by staff, a culture of bullying and of fear among recruits leading to a reluctance to raise complaints.
In the last three years there were seven criminal convictions related to sexual offences, abuse and rape as well as a racial and sexual harassment case.
Between November 2020 and December last year there were 15 internal complaints of violent behaviour by staff at the college, as recorded on the army’s personnel system.
Since 2014 army records reveal there have been 75 allegations of violence by staff against recruits, including claims of assault and battery, according to the CRIN.
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Video showed a group of recruits hitting a colleague with a belt as he did push-ups and what CRIN described as a “sanctioned fight” between two recruits that had been organised by an instructor.
Junior soldiers as young as 16 are trained by the army at the college in North Yorkshire. The UK is the only country in Europe where where enlistment begins at 16, provided that a parent approves. France and Italy begin at 18.
The whistleblower, who is referred to as Lach although that is not his real name, was at the college between 2023 and 2024. He said some of the recruits at the college did lines of cocaine in their room.
Kerry-Ann Knight, a black female soldier who fronted British Army recruitment campaigns, previously revealed how years of racist abuse and bullying made her life while serving “a living hell”. She was an instructor at the college between May 2021 and January 2023.
She took her case to an employment tribunal and accepted a substantial settlement from the Ministry of Defence in July this year.
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Giving fresh testimony to the CRIN, she said she was informed that last year one recruit — “the only lad of colour in his section” — was forced by his section commander to eat dog food and walk on a leash.
The recruit mentioned it to a senior member of staff and was later dismissed as unfit for military service, she claimed. A military source said incident records showed a recruit claimed to have been forced to “walk like a dog” but military police investigated and the complaint was not upheld. They said there was no mention of dog food in the official complaint record.
Knight said there was bullying and verbal abuse of recruits and described the college as unsafe. She said some of the instructors at Harrogate were “sex predators, plain and simple” and they wanted a posting to Harrogate “to get first dibs at the girls coming in”.
“Of course you get predators in wider society too, but they’re not being put in uniform, put on a pedestal and in a position of power where they can openly take advantage of young females,” she said.
An army source defended the college, suggesting it was no different from other schools. “Unfortunately, bad things can happen at any school or youth organisation. It’s inexcusable, but it’s certainly not unique to Harrogate,” they said.
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In addition, they said that not all recruits had the best start in life, and some may have suffered from lack of access to education and other life problems; issues which they sometimes brought to the college with them.
They also commented that “instructors aren’t always perfect human beings” however “we’re really proud of the opportunities we provide, and the quality of the young people we train”.
“Everything we can do to stamp out bad behaviour is being done,” the source added.
James Wyke, a spokesman for CRIN said: “Any civilian institution with a record of the abuse of children like the Army Foundation College would be investigated and shut down. The Army Foundation College must be properly investigated and the role of Ofsted … must be called into question.”
An army spokesman said: “We take any allegations of mistreatment extremely seriously and have robust procedures in place to address any unacceptable behaviour, ensuring a safe and supportive environment for all our students and staff.
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“The most recent Ofsted report on welfare and duty of care in the Armed Forces highlighted that high standards of care, welfare, and safeguarding are deeply embedded in Harrogate’s training programmes.”
