A female British Army instructor allegedly told junior recruits, ‘you’re mine now b******’ and demanded to know ‘who thinks they’re hardest?’ A court martial was heard before she punched them.
Witnesses say Corporal Kimberley Hey instructed teenage trainees to lift their arms, loosen their belt buckles and answer incorrectly in tests before striking them in the stomach.
A 34-year old woman who boxed all her military career is accused of giving regular punches as she trained to other soldiers.
One young soldier, a male soldier, was hit in the stomach so severely that he began to cry.
Cpl. Hey (of the 3rd Regiment Royal Logistics Corps) denies eight counts for battery involving five junior officers.
Kimberly Hey 34 (pictured outside Bulford Military Court) is charged with eight counts each of battery against five junior troops
Jonathan Bryan, a craftsman, said that Cpl Hey punched him once in the stomach but she described her as “strict but fair”.
She claims her actions were banter and that they were an act of bonding with other soldiers.
Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire heard that Cpl. Hey was stationed at Harrogate Army Foundation College, North Yorkshire. Here junior soldiers receive training for six months. The terms are split into three periods of six weeks.
Hannah Harwood, Signaller, gave evidence by videolink from the Falkland islands. She stated: “We all stood on the company lines in a corridor. She said something along the lines of, “you’re mine now, b******”.
The platoon was addressed by Cpl Hey again at the start of the second terms. We were asked by her, “Who thinks they are hardest?” Cpl Hey handed three people a punch in the stomach.
“If she felt bad, she might punch us. I was only able to take a few slaps from her stomach once. I wasn’t aware of it but it had happened to others so I was prepared. I was not as hurt as her male counterparts.
A second incident took place at AFC Harrogate at the start of the third term for the trainees.
Signaller Harwood said: “There was an event in the third term that stood out. Cpl Hey punched an unnamed male trainee, and he wept until he was unable to speak.
He started to cry and Cpl Hey must have felt awful after, as she was extremely apologetic.
Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire was informed that Cpl. Hey enjoyed stomach punches as an Army instructor.
“After the pass out parade, in the final speeches before we leave, Cpl Hey spoke to us once more while we were still on the line. “I’m going out to punch you all the last time,” she said. She did indeed punch some people.
In his prosecution, Wing Commander Michael Saunders stated that Cpl Hey used to punch soldiers when they were not answering questions correctly.
Wg Cdr Saunders stated: “She would ask them to line up in the corridor, then walk up and down, and occasionally tell them to take off their belts before she hit them.
“Cpl Hey did not have the right to behave in such a way.”
Joseph Wiggin, a craftsman, told the court Cpl Hey punched every platoon member on the first day of training when he was only 16 years old. However, he insisted that it was part ‘bonding in the platoon.
Jonathan Bryan, a craftsman added that Cpl Hey had once given him a jab in his stomach. She was kind and fair, but strict.
Continue the trial.