We want justice for our dead soldier sons

Mums united in grief and battling for truth live just yards apart.

They are mothers united in grief over their servicemen sons and locked in a battle for justice for their loved ones.

And in an emotional interview with The Sunday Post Susan Fleeting and Kathleen Murray-Taylor expose what they believe are the failures of the military authorities to prevent their young sons’ deaths.

Susan believes her 24-year-old son, Robert, was murdered at an RAF base after an initiation went wrong. And she has forged a strong bond with Kathleen, who believes her son, Steven Murray, was “let down badly” by the army.

An inquest earlier this year revealed he may still be alive today if he had received better medical attention after fracturing his skull in a play fight at Halton army base near Lancaster in 2010.

Incredibly, the mothers, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, had been suffering their grief privately, not realising they live just a few hundred yards apart. Now they have been brought together through a shared determination to hold to account those they believe failed their sons.

Susan, 51, said: “We met at a Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association meeting in Glasgow a few months ago. I recognised Kathleen and then we realised I had worked with her father years before.

“We got talking. She had heard of Robert’s case and I’d heard of Steven’s and we have given each other support since. It’s amazing to have someone you can be normal with, who you can cry with one moment and laugh the next, knowing you’re not being judged.”

Grandmother-of-two Kathleen, 47, feels the same.

“Robert died in horrendous circumstances, just like Steven,” she said. “Just like us, they’ve not had real answers about exactly what happened.

“I had been in a cocoon, not being able to talk to people because you don’t think they will be interested. My daughter has lost a brother, his grandparents lost a grandson but they don’t know what it’s like losing a son.

“It’s made a huge difference just talking to Susan.”

Susan was successful earlier this year in getting police to re-investigate Robert’s death. The coroner at Senior Aircraftman Fleeting’s inquest ruled he had committed suicide after having consensual sex with another man. Investigators found suicide notes but Susan doesn’t believe Robert wrote them.

A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) published in May, highlighted flaws in the original investigation. In particular, that internal injuries Robert, a former firefighter, had suffered had not been explained.

It criticised the inquiry for failing to give an adequate explanation as to how he apparently hanged himself from a door-closing mechanism at his room in RAF Benson, Oxfordshire, in September 2011. Concerns were raised that officers had accepted the word of a witness, despite him providing contradictory statements.

Susan, who is married to Charlie, 52, and has a 23-year-old daughter, Stacy-Ann, said: “I was ecstatic when I got the call from the IPCC saying they were upholding the appeal and thought for the first time somebody was listening to us and understanding.

“I believe my son was raped and then murdered. We do not believe he took his own life. My son had my nature and I believe there’s always something to live for.”

The couple have instructed barrister John Cooper QC, who represented the families of four soldiers who died in suspicious circumstances at Deepcut barracks, to compile evidence for the new investigation.

Mr Cooper said: “We are assisting the police and the other authorities with their re-investigation in the hope and expectation that, once fresh evidence is revealed, we can re-open Robert’s inquest.

“The family are of the firm view that Robert didn’t commit suicide. Whatever the investigation comes up with, the family are determined to carry on fighting.”

Kathleen is also demanding answers from the Ministry of Defence.

Steven, 23, fractured his skull when he hit his head on the floor in a play fight 11 weeks into his training in 2010. He had been drinking with army pals when he got into a “scuffle”, his mother said.

His commanding officers allowed him to go to bed, despite him displaying signs of concussion, including vomiting. Steven could not be woken the next morning and was rushed to hospital but it was too late to save him.

At an inquest in Preston in June, three years after his death, coroner Dr James Adeley said Steven would still be alive if he had received better medical care.

Kathleen, married to James and mum to daughters Leeann, 28 and Ashleigh, 22, said the family had been “torn apart” when Steven died.

She said: “It changes your life in every way. In my job as a carer, I felt very privileged helping people with severe dementia in their last days. When Steven died, my whole outlook changed. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone who was in the frame of mind I was in looking after my parents.”

They were also crushed by the delay between Steven’s death and subsequent inquest, blaming the MoD for frustrating the investigation by attempting to “cover up” what had happened.

Kathleen added: “After the inquest I was devastated. I knew in my heart what had happened but to have it there in black and white was heartbreaking. The army had shown total disrespect to Steven.

“People like us need to know what happened to our children. Steven was training to go to Afghanistan. He was still a baby. The truth of what happened to him hurts enough but the cover up is intolerable. There’s a feeling the MoD are untouchable.”

A spokeswoman for the MoD said: “Our thoughts remain with the families and friends of Senior Aircraftsman Robert Fleeting and Private Steven Murray.”

She said the circumstances surrounding Steven’s death were “extensively investigated” by the police and the Royal Military Police.

“A number of lessons identified in the Service Inquiry have been implemented. Administrative action was also taken against seven people by the RMP.”

The spokesman said it would be “inappropriate to comment” on Robert death until the outcome of the re-investigation by Thames Valley Police.

Kathleen draws solace in the fact that Steven’s tragic death was not in vain. He was on the organ donor register and, after his death, his pancreas and a kidney were donated to a man on his 49th birthday.

Kathleen said: “I don’t know the man but I know he was on dialysis which he doesn’t need any more after the donation. It gives me some comfort because it was what Steven wanted. He didn’t die for nothing.”

For most mothers, the festive season is filled with joy. But for Susan Fleeting and Kathleen Murray-Taylor every year’s festivities are tinged with a deep sadness.

This year, like every other year, Susan hung up Robert’s Christmas stocking filling it with gifts he will never receive.

She said: “I still put a little something, like scratch cards and some sweets in his stocking. It is just so that when he’s up there, he knows he’s not forgotten.”

Kathleen has not been able to put up a Christmas tree since Steven died. Her son always made her a cake for her birthday on Christmas Eve and would visit at one minute past midnight to wish her Happy New Year.

“It is things like that I will never get back,” she said.