On 13 July 2013 three experienced army reservists were among 78 men setting off on a forced march over Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. James Dunsby, Edward Maher and Craig Roberts hoped to join the SAS reserve, and were taking part in an arduous two-week programme to test their suitability for the British army’s elite unit
The temperature was already approximately 19C before 07.00 when the men started out on an unusually windless day. They needed to complete the 16-mile march over the largest mountain in southern Britain within eight hours and 48 minutes while carrying rucksacks weighing at least 49lbs (22kg). Five checkpoints were set up along the route but as the inquest later heard two were without water and three without fully trained medics. By 12.14 the temperature was heading towards 30C and a candidate had already withdrawn through heat illness
14.05: Edward Maher collapses
Maher, 31, had served in hot conditions as a reservist with a special forces observation unit. He reached the final checkpoint at around 13.25 but still faced the Craig Fan Ddu ridge, one of the steepest slopes on the course. He carried on for another 40 minutes before wandering away from the homeward route and collapsing. His lack of movement wasn’t noted by staff for two hours despite each man wearing a tracking device. A medic located him shortly before 17.00
15.30: Craig Roberts collapses
Roberts, 24, signed up as a reservist while at university and had been stationed in Cyprus. He left the final checkpoint at roughly the same time as Maher but got to within a mile of the finishing line before collapsing in a steep-sided valley notorious as a spot where many SAS candidates quit. Another soldier pressed Roberts’ emergency button after finding him convulsing and vomiting at about 15.30. Civilian paramedics arrived around 16.45 and the air ambulance at 17.05
15.30: James Dunsby collapses
Dunsby, 31, had followed a route different to that of Maher and Roberts. The hugely experienced reservist arrived at the peak of Pen y Fan shortly before 15.00. He jogged downhill towards the finishing line but about half an hour later left the main path and collapsed about a mile before the end. It was about 16.35pm before course staff noticed he had stopped moving and help was dispatched
