Brecon Beacons deaths: MoD names third soldier
Corporal James Dunsby died in hospital on Tuesday more than two weeks after collapsing during exercise in south Wales
A third soldier who died after a disastrous SAS selection test on the Brecon Beacons has been named as Corporal James Dunsby.
Dunsby, 31, who was married, died in hospital on Tuesday more than two weeks after collapsing during the exercise in south Wales as temperatures soared to 30C.
In a statement released through the Ministry of Defence, his family said he loved the army and believed “passionately” in his work.
The statement read: “James had the most infectious enthusiasm for life. He was the most loving and dependable husband, not to mention the most handsome of men who could not be more cherished. James was and will remain a dearly loved, son, brother and husband.
“He had the uniquely wonderful ability to endear, enchant and captivate all who he met with his naughty sense of humour and highly intelligent wit. With James as your friend you were ensured loyalty, strength, allegiance, protection and most of all a damn good laugh.
“James adored the army and believed so passionately in his duty as a protector of queen and country and of the realm. James was so dearly loved by so many and will be sorely missed. Hurrah & huzzah for James Dunsby, a greater man you could not meet.”
Dunsby was a member of the Army Reserves (The Royal Yeomanry). Like the two others who died – Edward Maher, 31, and Lance Corporal Craig Roberts, 24 – he was an experienced soldier who had served in desert conditions.
The three who died were among six soldiers taken ill in the area around Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in southern Britain, on 13 July. Roberts was pronounced dead on the hillside, and Maher died in hospital three hours later. It is understood that Dunsby was treated in south Wales initially before being transferred to Birmingham.
At the opening of the inquest on Roberts and Maher in Brecon last week, it emerged that the cause of the men’s deaths remained unascertained. Further tests are taking place.
It is not known exactly what they were doing but the Pen y Fan area is notorious as the location for the so-called “fan dance”, in which soldiers hoping to join the special forces march over the mountain and back carrying a heavy pack and a rifle in a set time.
Roberts, 24, had served with the Territorial Army for about five years and is understood to have served in Afghanistan and Iraq. The former teaching assistant lived in London and had been due to start a job in the office of the education secretary.
No details of Maher’s career have been released officially but it is understood that he too was an experienced soldier who had served in Afghanistan. The MoD did not say whether Dunsby had served in Iraq or Afghanistan but released a picture of him standing next to an armoured vehicle in a desert.
The Powys coroner Louise Hunt said the …read more
