Tragic young veteran, 26, took own life after being discharged from Army on medical grounds

Thomas Foy, known as Tom, joined the army cadets at the age of 13 and enlisted in the armed forces when he left school at 16.

Bolton Coroner’s Court heard he became an electrician for the Royal Engineers, based in Kent, and went on one tour to south Sudan.

But in late 2019 he had an ear infection, which spread to his brain, and it led to him being discharged from the army on medical grounds in 2021 as he had developed epilepsy.

He lost his confidence, was “more inwards” and became slower, though it was not clear if that was due to his illness or the medication he was taking.

The loss of his military career and the impact of the illness came as a real blow for the 26-year-old.

His sister Sarah Foy told the inquest: “It was all he wanted do to since he was a child really.

"I think his plan was always, once he left the army, because he got his electrician qualification, he would transfer it to a civilian qualification and work as a self-employed electrician. But due to the epilepsy, he couldn’t drive so he couldn’t be a self-employed electrician.

"I think he was lost for a long time about where to go with life and struggled.”

Tom, who lived in Ince, started working as a carer, with his sister explaining that his experience of ill health gave him “a lot of empathy for people who are also needing to be taken care of”.

Miss Foy told the court Tom revealed he was having suicidal ideation in late 2019, shortly before he became ill, but felt he could not speak to anyone in the army about it.

Last year, he told her he thought his epilepsy medication was making him feel depressed and she encouraged him to speak to his GP about changing medication.

He was prescribed an anti-depressant in October, but the court heard he suffered side effects and a lactose-free version had to be prescribed instead in December.

After the October GP appointment, Tom self-referred for talking therapy and a triage assessment was done on November 27.

Psychological well-being practitioner Sarah Warburton said Tom spoke about changes in his life since leaving the army and said he smoked cannabis to relax.

He was scored as being moderately depressed and having mild anxiety.

She said Tom revealed he had tried to end his life around 10 times in five years, with the most recent being three weeks earlier.

He said the act gave him “a sense of catharsis”, which led to coroner Bronia Hartley questioning whether it was actually a form of self-harm rather than an attempt to end his life.

Ms Warburton said she thought CBT would be the appropriate treatment for Tom and he agreed to be put on a waiting list.

As a former serviceman, he was prioritised and offered an appointment on December 4 following a late cancellation, but he was not available to attend.

She said attempts were made to offer further appointments, but he did not take them up.

Tom’s housemate Michael Sykes said he told him he was experiencing suicidal thoughts in early November and he encouraged him to speak to a doctor.

He said Tom had “good days and bad days”, sometimes being “really chatty” and enjoying his hobbies and other times spending hours in bed during the day, blaming his medication for making him tired.

Tom had smoked cannabis socially since they met in August 2023 and it became something he did almost daily, but he was using it more before he died and becoming “more incapacitated”, he said.

The inquest heard Mr Sykes went to visit his girlfriend in Glasgow over Christmas and returned on December 26, when he had a meal with Tom, who seemed “a bit spaced out and distant”.

Tom went to work the following day and seemed “really low” when he returned home, revealing he had a bad day and had an issue with a colleague.

Mr Sykes encouraged him to visit his family, but Tom was keen to attend a meeting at work and said he would visit them after that.

The court heard Tom did not attend work on December 28 and housemate Holly Foster found him unresponsive in his bedroom that afternoon. Paramedics were called, but he was pronounced dead.

Tests showed he had consumed cannabis before he died, but it was not possible say if that affected his state of mind.

Coroner Ms Hartley said Tom had “good friends and a supportive and loving family” and led a “purposeful life” by joining the army, but then faced “a series of unfortunate events”, with his health problems, leaving the army and being unable to drive.

"He must have felt incredibly frustrated,” she said.

She could not be sure Tom’s death was suicide, after hearing about similar acts in the past which may have been a form of self-harm rather than attempts to end his life.

Instead she recorded a narrative conclusion, stating: “The deceased took his own life by suspending himself from a ligature. It has not been possible to determine his intention at the time he did so.”

If you need to speak to someone, call Samaritans at any time on 116 123.