Sergeant Gavin Hillier, 35, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, died in the Castlemartin area of Pembrokeshire on 4 March 2021. A revised report found that the shooter, known as Guardsman 1, had been prescribed corrective lenses but was not wearing them at the time Hillier was shot. The marksman, who had been in the army for 18 months at the time of the incident, had previously tried to join the Welsh Guards but was rejected due to poor eyesight. The guard only met minimum entry standards for the military when wearing corrective lenses, the report said. Sergeant Hillier’s wife Karyn and sons Declan and Conor described themselves as “heartbroken” after his death. The service inquiry report by the Defense Security Authority said: “The committee assessed the possibility that Gdsm 1 mistook Sgt Hillier for SFT [switch fire target]. “The panel concluded that not using their prescribed corrective lenses significantly affected Gdsm 1’s ability to identify, acquire and then engage the correct target. The panel finds that Gdsm 1 not wearing his corrective lenses was a contributing factor.” The report concluded that on the night of the incident, the gunner “was approximately 290 meters from the SFT where they were to aim their rifle.” He adds: “Given their uncorrected VA [visual acuity]they would have seen this target in the same detail as someone with normal vision would at 1,740 meters.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The report makes a number of recommendations, including making sure soldiers who need corrective lenses know their responsibility to wear them “for all their safety-critical duties” and a “safeguard mechanism” to ensure they wear them ” before the live shot.” Sergeant Hillier had a “distinguished career”, the Ministry of Defense previously said, deploying operations in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was awarded a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal by Prince Charles, Colonel of the Welsh Guards, in 2019. His wife and sons said: “We are absolutely devastated and cannot express how proud we are of you. Our boys will continue to make you proud and you will live on forever through them.” An inquest into Sgt Hillier’s death was launched at Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire Coroner’s last year. An army spokesman said: “Our thoughts and condolences remain with the family and friends of Sergeant Gavin Hillier at this sad time. We are supporting the ongoing investigation into the incident, which is being led by Dyfed-Powys Police, so it would not be appropriate to comment further.” It is the latest in a number of accidents in the Castlemartin area. In 2012, Michael Maguire, 21, was shot in the head by a machine gun bullet after removing his body armor and helmet during a live-fire exercise in May. An inquest ruled that he was unlawfully killed. In 2017, Cpls Matthew Hatfield and Darren Neilson of the Royal Tank Regiment died after their tank exploded during a training exercise.
