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Scars of Deepcut will not fade for campaigning families
Des James knows many will think his confidence is misplaced.
His daughter, Private Cheryl James, was one of four young recruits who died at Deepcut barracks from gunshot wounds between 1995 and 2002 and, for the last seven years, Des has been at the forefront of a campaign demanding a public inquiry into the still murky events.
In that time he has come up against numerous brick walls, written countless letters which have resulted in only the briefest of replies and being brushed off by the authorities.
However, despite continued insistence by the Army and the Government that all four took their own lives, Des remains optimistic the families' calls will now eventually be answered.
"Honestly, I am more confident than I have ever been," he says. "I don't say that lightly. A year or so ago I was probably at my lowest ebb, but I know we have right on our side. I have tried my hardest to think of a reason against an inquiry and I can't think of a single one. There is no alternative and I am now convinced those in power will see sense."
Des's renewed confidence is partly down to his involvement in the play Deep Cut, which comes to the West Yorkshire Playhouse next week. Written by Philip Ralph, it focuses on the fall out from Deepcut and the effect in particular on Des and his wife Doreen, an ordinary couple from North Wales.
It includes some uncomfortable home truths, from the strain a child's death places on even the strongest of marriages to how alcohol became a crutch for the grieving father.
"I had lots of reservations about the play and so did Doreen," he says. "However, it became obvious to us very early on that the media were our only allies and we had to take opportunities where we could.
"After we sat through the first dress rehearsal of the play we both said that we nearly walked out after the first 10 minutes.
"There was a point where I was drinking myself to death and that's very hard to watch.
"However, we both always said that the only thing we could do was tell the truth. Without honesty, there was nothing."
When Des and Doreen were initially told their daughter had committed suicide in 1995, they believed the official reports. There was they say nothing else they could do, but when details of the deaths of Privates Sean Benton, Geoff Gray and James Collinson emerged, it painted a much darker picture of life in Deepcut barracks.
As the allegations intensified, Nicholas Blake QC was appointed in 2004 to conduct a review of the circumstances surrounding the four deaths,
but when the report was published two years later, many of the families' questions and concerns remained unanswered. While it talked of "harassment, discrimination and oppressive behaviour", it concluded the deaths were probably self-inflicted and crucially ruled out the need for a public inquiry. It is this perceived lack of transparency which has so frustrated the families.
"We are ordinary working class people who were brought up to respect authority," says Des.
"However, all the families now feel they have been paid lip service to and no-one seems willing to sit down and discuss the issues openly.
"Because no charges were ever brought, the evidence gathered by the police investigation has never been disclosed and without a public inquiry it never will be. I'm not a conspiracy theorist and I'm not and never have been anti-Army, I just want to see all the evidence available about what happened to my daughter."
The play, and the question and answer sessions he holds after some of the performances, is his way of keeping the momentum of the campaign going.
"We are getting to the point where Deepcut is in danger of being dismissed as an old story and the Government are happy for it to stay that way," he says.
"I heard Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth on the radio recently say there had already been four inquiries into what happened. I was almost sick.
"There may have been a police investigation and a report, but despite repeated calls there has never been one inquiry. If there had, this play might not have happened and all the families may have finally found some peace."
n Deep Cut is at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds, from November 10 to 21. Des James and writer Philip Ralph will answer questions after performances on November 11 and 18.
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