Royal Marines recruit worried over kit - inquest
A teenage Royal Marines recruit found dead on a railway line may have feared losing his leave after misplacing a piece of kit, an inquest heard.
The coroner has been told that Connor Clark, 18, from Norfolk, believed he was the "worst recruit" just three weeks into his training in Devon.
He had been due to spend the weekend in Exeter when his body was discovered on the tracks near the commando training centre in Lympstone on 12 June 2021.
The inquest in Exeter has heard Mr Clark had made comments about being told by the staff he was a "failure" and the "worst recruit" and he had also misplaced a blank firing adapter for his rifle.
The teenager, who went to Thorpe St Andrew School on the outskirts of Norwich, was three weeks into a four-week recruit orientation phase course (ROP) that all Marines attend before their initial training.
Officers told the inquest there would not have been any consequences for Mr Clark for losing the £40 device.
Giving evidence, Able Seaman Chris Lee, who became friends with Mr Clark on the course, denied the teenager had been a target of bullying by instructors.
"I wouldn't say he was singled out or targeted any more than the rest of the troop," Mr Lee said.
He added he was taken "completely by surprise" by his friend's death.
"We didn't have any kind of foresight or any thought that could happen. It didn't really come across our minds," he said.
Mr Lee said despite the lack of warning signs before Mr Clark's death, he felt on reflection his friend "got a little more stressed and worried" that he might lose "shore leave" due to misplacing a piece of kit.
The inquest continues.
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