Tributes paid to 'much loved' soldier after inquest

The family of a soldier who died of a gunshot to the head while waiting to go on a firing range have paid tribute to a "much-loved son, brother and partner".

L/Cpl Joe Spencer, 24, from Hampshire, died on 1 November 2016 when his L115A3 sniper rifle fired unexpectedly during sniper training in the Scottish Highlands.

At the end of a seven-day inquest in Winchester, the jury of five women and six men concluded on Wednesday that the exact circumstances of how the gun went off remained a mystery.

Spencer's father, Graham Spencer, said the inquest had been "incredibly difficult" but had been "something we needed to do to honour Joe's memory".

The jurors said that "inconsistent range management and adherence to safety procedures contributed to the omission of a full unload drill".

"A live round remained chambered in Joe's rifle," they added.

"These events led to the unintentional discharge of his weapon. How his gun went off in the Iso could not be ascertained."

Sheriff Gary Aitken said in the determination of a fatal accident inquiry released in December 2024, that the training course was being delivered in three phases at ranges at Barry Buddon near Dundee, Tain in the Highlands, and Otterburn in Northumberland.

The sheriff found that Spencer was standing waiting for his turn to take part in an exercise, with the butt of his rifle resting on his foot and his chin resting on the barrel, when it went off.

He ruled the incident was partly due to Spencer's "utterly inexplicable failure" to properly unload his rifle after a live fire exercise earlier in the day.

The sheriff added that his death could have been avoided if he had not been "holding his rifle vertically in close proximity to his body during the undemanded discharge".

Aitken also pointed to failures in the way the training course had been delivered, saying that if the "correct words of command to carry out the unload drill" had been given, the incident could have been avoided.

Colour Sgt Gordon Smart, of 2 Scots The Royal Regiment of Scotland, told the inquest he had been a safety supervisor on the day of the incident and that Spencer had been sheltering from the rain in a shipping container with colleagues as they waited to go back on to the firing range.

Smart said he had heard shouts of "man down" and had run to the shelter where he found L/Cpl Spencer's body lying on the floor with a rifle underneath him.

The witness said one of the soldiers, Christopher Leveridge, had told him it had been his "fault" because he had bumped into Spencer.

"He was really white, shaking, just shock. I told him it wasn't his fault," Smart added.

The youngest of three brothers, Spencer joined the British Army in 2011, and became a member of 3rd Battalion The Rifles.

He was deployed abroad on a number of occasions, including operations in Afghanistan where he was seriously wounded in a grenade attack.

"Having joined the Army he excelled in his training phase, he was awarded the best recruit, he was a very capable young man and a very capable soldier," Pegg said.

Spencer's father said the family "remain disappointed that not all of those tasked with the safe delivery of the course gave full evidence in court".

"Joe was a much-loved son, brother and partner, his unnecessary death has left an immeasurable chasm in our lives," he said.

"Despite being badly injured while serving in Afghanistan, he fought back with incredible determination to continue the career he loved. That was the measure of Joe."

The father added it had been hard to focus on the "wonderful memories we have of him, because so much of our energy has gone into trying to establish the events that contributed to his death".

"We're grateful to Joe's colleagues who attended the inquest and gave evidence in person.

"It was clear from their accounts that Joe was a highly capable and well-respected soldier."

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