WHEN Prince Edward dropped out of the Royal Marines in 1987, after just ten weeks of training, Buckingham Palace insisted that it had nothing to do with the tough physical regime.

Being ordered to strip naked and walk through an icy river on Dartmoor with fellow recruits was, apparently, all in a day’s work for the young Prince who went on to pursue a television career.

Men — and the occasional woman — aiming to win the coveted green beret have to pass what is considered to be one of the toughest commando courses in the world.

One test is a nine-mile speed march in 90 minutes carrying 22lb of equipment. Another involves a 30-mile march carrying 32lb with an eight-hour time limit. Half of all recruits drop out before the end of the 30-week course at the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, where the corps motto is A Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body.

Initiation ceremonies for those who have successfully completed their training have long been a part of the history of the Royal Marines. Although the Ministry of Defence has tried to stamp out bullying, allegations of brutality in the Royal Marines are nothing new, both at Lympstone and when new recruits are posted elsewhere.

In February this year a judge decried the “ugly culture of bullying” which had set the Armed Forces back 15 years in their campaign against institutionalised bullying. Judge Advocate Paul Camp, a court martial judge, made his comments as he sentenced three marines for attacking a colleague in an initiation ceremony in Iraq which involved dousing him in urine and faeces.

In 1997 George Robertson, then Secretary of State for Defence, pledged a campaign to stamp out bullying and harassment in the Armed Forces. A confidential telephone hotline was set up to encourage servicemen and women to come forward.

A former Royal Marine NCO yesterday described the brutality in the video as an extreme form of “beasting” handed out to new recruits. The Falklands and first Gulf War veteran said: “There is a fine line between character-building and humiliation. This video seems to have crossed the line and appears to be more gladiatorial.

“The officers go through even harder training than the ordinary guys when they join up so they know what the NCOs dish out and they know how far it goes.

“But you always have one or two people who take things too far and that’s what has happened here. There have been court martials in the past involving NCO trainers who were found out taking things too far.

“But a lot of that sort of thing happened in the past before society became much more politically correct and bullying was not under such focus.

“Having said that, recruits and marines have to be pushed to the extreme because the corps wants to stay the best, the elite, and you cannot do that with kid gloves. We have all dished it out and been on the receiving end of stuff which would make civilians cringe.”

The Victims

Deepcut

Privates Sean Benton, Cheryl James, Geoff Gray and James Collinson were found dead from gunshot wounds at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey between 1995 and 2002. In 2003 Surrey Police formally announced that there was no evidence of murder. The parents of the dead soldiers are demanding a public inquiry

Compensation

The MOD has paid out nearly £1 million in compensation to victims of bullying in the Forces over the past five years. Claims from service men and women who have suffered bullying, harassment or ill-treatment have soared recently

Suicide

A report published in March this year and commissioned by the MoD found that three quarters of army personnel believed that bullying took place and that one in ten had experienced it. The report also revealed that the suicide rate among men under 20 in the army was 1.7 times higher than in civilian life

Video

In August a video made at the School of Infantry, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, was claimed to be of hooded new recruits being forced to assume humiliating poses.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• The Times celebrates its 225th birthday
• Heath discussed IMF loan during 1974 crisis
• Britain’s loneliest café opens for business