By the time Cheryl James enlisted in the army aged 17 years and seven months, she had already left home and was living in a flat that her adoptive parents, Des and Doreen James, had helped her find.
The couple, with whom she had lived since she was a baby, had supported her application to join the army. The teenage James rowed with her parents and hoped to acquire good training, enhanced career prospects and self-discipline.
Her life had not been without upset. A former teacher described her as a “mixed-up kid” and a “tough nut to crack”, who was emotional about not knowing her true background. She was, the teacher said, “very insecure and had deep-seated problems”.
A close cousin had killed himself three years before, an incident which is believed to have deeply affected her. Shortly afterwards, James had taken some paracetamol – “just six or eight”, her father said – which her family viewed as a cry for help. She had not disclosed this self-harm when she enlisted.
She had also been the victim of an alleged rape by two boys when she was 14, she told friends later, although all her mother knew at the time was that she wanted to get the morning-after pill.
Simeon Carr-Minns, one of her two boyfriends while she was at Deepcut, would tell police in 2002 she was a “chirpy, bubbly girl” but he thought there were “a lot of things she was suppressing” and which made her unhappy.
The last time her parents saw her was on 22 October 1995, her 18th birthday. About a month later, she was dead.
- In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14.
