An army medic praised for his bravery while touring Iraq and Afghanistan with the SAS has taken his own life.

Staff Sergeant Jamie Ferguson, 36, made a video in his final moments on June 18 in which he said: ‘I asked for help but no one was listening. They didn’t understand.’

SSgt Ferguson, who shot himself at the Leuchars military base in Fife, Scotland, was the fifth military man to take his own life in a week.

Since lockdown began, more than 13 serving or formed members of the armed forces have reportedly killed themselves.

His widow Sammi told the Sunday Mirror: ‘My husband asked for help but was ignored. The Ministry of Defence is in denial over military suicides. How many more soldiers and veterans need to die before the MoD does something?

‘The MoD’s behaviour over military suicides is a scandal. The government should be ashamed of themselves. These are soldiers who were mentally traumatised in the service of this country and have been disowned by the MoD.’

‘My husband should be alive today. There will be Army wives who think their husbands are fine but who are planning to kill themselves. The MoD behaves as though this isn’t an issue.’

Two other personnel reportedly took their lives at the same base last year.

SSgt Ferguson, from Leicestershire, joined the army at 16, rising to the Royal Army Medical Corps and eventually serving the SAS between 2008 and 2012.

His mental health took a blow after he tried in vain to save the life of a 22-year-old Guardsman who was trampled by a rogue elephant while they were on an anti-poaching patrol in Malawi.

Ms Ferguson, 50, described the incident as ‘super-traumatic’ for her husband, who also struggled with an inquest into the death six months later.

She told The Times: ‘When he came home, I could see he was tense. He said he didn’t want to practise medicine again because of the incident. He believed his mental health would be at risk if he continued.’

‘The inquest had been weighing heavily on Jamie. He wanted somebody to say to him: “You did everything you could, you couldn’t have done anything more.”’

On the day of the medic’s death two police officers visited Ms Ferguson at her home in Kirkcaldy and read a transcript of the video he had made.

Ms Ferguson said: ‘Jamie was the last person I would have thought would ever do this. He bought me my dream house and made it perfect. I feel he got everything set up and then said, “I can go”.’

SSgt Ferguson’s last posting was working as the Permanent Staff Instructor for 205 Field Hospital, based in Dundee.

He also leaves behind a son and two stepdaughters from Ms Ferguson’s previous marriage.

An Army spokesperson said: ‘We were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Jamie Ferguson and our thoughts remain with his family and friends at this difficult time.

‘His Regiment and Police Scotland are fully cooperating as they investigate the circumstances that led to his death.

‘As this is ongoing it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.’

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