Ex-Royal Artillery gunner launches £50,000 lawsuit against MoD claiming he was deafened firing guns

A former soldier is suing the Ministry of Defence for more than £50,000 claiming he was deafened while working in the British Army.

Royal Artillery gunner Royston Penhallurick says he has been left ‘disabled’ after he was not given proper ear protection while firing the British Army’s biggest guns and taking helicopter flights.

The veteran claims he now needs hearing aids in both ears after being repeatedly exposed to the pounding of explosives whilst firing FH70 155mm Howitzers.

Mr Penhallurick fired the 10m-long heavy towed guns, which have an effective range of up to 18 miles, as well as a variety of other weapons.

The 56-year-old who lives in Stoke on Trent and is involved with Stoke City’s youth team, also says he was exposed to noise from Lynx and Puma helicopters during flights ‘with no hearing protection’.

The former ‘servant of the Crown’, who served in the Royal Artillery regiment from 1980 to 2004, was a veteran of conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Gulf War and the Balkans.

Royal Artillery gunner Royston Penhallurick, who served in the regiment from 1980 to 2004, claims he has been left ‘disabled’ after firing some of the British Army’s largest guns and flying in Lynx and Puma helicopters ‘deafened’ him 

At stages of his career, he had had ‘daily exposure to noise from SA80s, light machine guns, general purpose machine guns, Scimitars, Scorpions, Warriors, 30mm cannon and FV432s,’ he says.

He is now claiming damages ‘likely to exceed £50,000’ from the MoD, alleging army chiefs failed to properly protect his hearing during his years as a ‘servant of the Crown’.

In his particulars of claim, filed with the High Court, lawyers for Mr Penhallurick say: ‘Mr Penhallurick served in the Royal Artillery as a servant of the Crown, for whom the defendant is responsible. From 2006 onwards, he served in the Army reserves.

‘During the period of his service with the defendant, he was exposed to high levels of noise,’ his lawyers say, with peaks of around 140 db, the limit at which human ears can hear without the sound becoming physically painful to the ears.

‘During numerous exercises on Salisbury Plain…and exercises at Otterburn each year, Mr Penhallurick was involved in exercises involving the firing of SLRs and training with the big guns, usually the FH70 155mm. 

‘No hearing protection was worn firing the SLR or whilst others fired in close proximity to him.

‘(During) basic training with tanks he had daily exposure to noise from SA80s, light machine guns, general purpose machine guns, Scimitars, Scorpions, Warriors, 30mm cannon and FV432s. No hearing protection was worn.

‘He went on numerous Lynx and Puma flights without wearing any ear protection.

The veteran claims he now needs hearing aids in both ears after being repeatedly exposed to the pounding of explosives whilst firing FH70 155mm Howitzers (pictured), some of the British Army's largest guns

The veteran claims he now needs hearing aids in both ears after being repeatedly exposed to the pounding of explosives whilst firing FH70 155mm Howitzers (pictured), some of the British Army’s largest guns

He also claims taking flights in Puma (pictured, stock image) and Lynx helicopters without adequate hearing protection while serving in the British Army further damaged his hearing

He also claims taking flights in Puma (pictured, stock image) and Lynx helicopters without adequate hearing protection while serving in the British Army further damaged his hearing

‘The claimant wore ear defenders when actually firing on ranges but not in other circumstances,’ his lawyers say.

They go on to allege that his Army superiors ‘failed to advise the claimant of the dangers of exposure to loud noise, the possible consequences of such exposure and things such has hearing problems or tinnitus’.

Where do Howitzer guns feature on the decibel scale?

A Howitzer gun is a long-range artillery weapon used by militaries around the world. 

The FH70 Howitzers is a towed close support gun which fires 155mm caliber rounds. 

They weigh up to 9,600 kg and their firing range can extend to up to 30 km – depending on the ammunition used. 

According to a US Army Public Health Command report, a 155mm Howitzer can produce 181 decibel blast.

That is more than 25 times louder than an average rock concert, while a jet engine takeoff is normally about 150 decibels. 

A smaller Howtizer gun, such as a 105mm Howitzer, can produce around 171 decibel blasts, according to the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

The particulars of claim also accuse the army of ‘failing to provide adequate hearing protection and / or failing to require or enforce the wearing thereof’ and ‘failing to provide the claimant with ear protection which reduced sufficiently the noise levels to which he was exposed.’

Mr Penhallurick is asking the High Court to give him permission to bring his claim out of time. 

His lawyers say he didn’t know he could bring a claim until he had been out of the Army for over a decade.

‘The claimant first noticed some problems with his hearing around 1998 and realised that it was probably related to his noise exposure,’ they say.

‘He noticed his hearing becoming particularly poor in 2017. He discussed it with his medical officer, who advised him that he might be able to make a civil claim in respect of the same.

‘The claimant did not know he could bring a civil claim against the Crown until then. The claimant will seek the court’s discretion to allow his claim to proceed.

‘He accepts that there has been a long delay between his date of knowledge and the commencement of his proceedings. 

‘The reason for such delay was his belief that the Crown was immune from suit and his ignorance of his legal rights.

‘Once he was aware of his legal rights, he instructed solicitors quickly and his claim was issued shortly thereafter.’

The MoD’s defence to the action is not yet available from the court and the contents of Mr Penhallurick’s particulars of claim have yet to be tested in evidence before a judge.