Ian George Robert Ashley

Ian George Robert Ashley was found shot at Knightsbridge Barracks.

He was found shot in the head, however, the pathologist said that the site of the entry of the bullet wound was not the usual one for a deliberate self-infliction.

The Coroner recorded an open verdict, stating that the exact circumstances in which the shooting happened had not been fully revealed.

His widow said that Ian Ashley had been interested in weapons and had also done some foil fighting in Scotland.

A trooper in the Royal Life Guards said that three weeks earlier Ian Ashley had been laying out some pistols at the barracks for the men to sign for them before going on duty. He said that he saw him put a round in the chamber of one of the guns and fan it round the room.

The trooper said that he told Ian Ashley that he shouldn't do that as it was a breach of military discipline.

Another trooper with the Royal Life Guards said that he had been standing in a sentry box when he heard a shot come from the guard room. He said that he went to see and found Ian Ashley lying dead on the floor with a pistol beside him.

A police constable that went to the guard room said that he found one empty cartridge case on the floor and evidence that the pistol had been fired. He said that there were marks of a bullet having ricocheted off the wall on to the ceiling before it dropped to the floor.

The pathologist that carried out the post mortem examination said that Ian Ashley died from shock and internal haemorrhage. When he was asked whether there had been anything unusual about the entry of the wound, the pathologist said that it was significantly below the site of a classical self-inflicted wound.