A promising young naval lieutenant took his own life after a night out while stationed in Hamburg, an inquest has heard.
Angus Herbert Donald Robertson, 30, died after he was found unresponsive in his cabin in March this year.
The inquest at Accrington Town Hall, in Lancashire, heard that while Lieutenant Robertson’s colleagues were initially successful in resuscitating him he was sadly pronounced dead in hospital on March 27.
Lieutenant Robertson, who received a full military funeral, was described by his former captain as ‘diligent and conscientious, affable and engaging.’
He joined the Royal Navy in 2018, as an officer in the Royal Marines, before he carried out his training on the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Forth.
After completing his training, following a stint serving on HMS Prince of Wales, he joined the logistics squadron with the fleet protection squadron in western Scotland.
He went on to protect the Vanguard-class submarines, which carry the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons.
In March this year Lieutenant Robertson and his colleagues were stationed in Hamburg and went on a night out before returning to their cabins.
Lieutenant Robertson, from Preston, was later found unresponsive. While his colleagues managed to resuscitate him, he died on March 27 after being taken to the Asklepios Klinik St Georg hospital in Hamburg.
A full military funeral was held for Lieutenant Robertson at St Peter’s Church in Stonyhurst, Lancashire. His colleagues described him as having a ‘commando spirit, courage, selflessness and cheerfulness in the face of adversity’.
His former captain said: ‘I found Angus diligent and conscientious, affable and engaging. His enthusiasm was infectious. He set, and demanded, high professional standards, and he understood the importance of personal example in leadership.
‘He maintained exceptional levels of physical fitness and was resilient with it. He had a very distinct sense of right and wrong, and a firm moral compass, but without any sense of moral judgement.
‘He understood that leadership requires selflessness and put the welfare of those he led ahead of himself. I was impressed by him professionally and fond of him personally.
‘As I came to write this, I looked back through the notebook I’d used before I handed over command of HMS Portland. Against Angus’s name I had written “impressive officer, gets things done, good company, well-regarded throughout the ship”.
‘I’d also written “to be avoided after midnight with whiskey”. I had double underlined the words “to be avoided” which must have reflected my own realisation that I could no longer hoot with the owls and rise with the larks as he could.
‘He would bounce into my cabin in the mornings, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as if two hours’ sleep and a PT session was all a man needed to get over a heavy night.’
Area coroner Kate Bisset, recording a narrative conclusion, said: ‘Angus Herbert Donald Robertson, a serving Naval Officer, died on the 27th March 2024 at the Asklepios Klinik St Georg, Hamburg, Germany.
‘Lieutenant Robertson had been on a night out with colleagues, following which he returned to his cabin and secured a ligature. He was found by colleagues and resuscitation was initially successful, which allowed for a transfer to hospital.
‘Lieutenant Robertson later died of injuries caused by the ligature. The ligature was tied deliberately by Lieutenant Robertson with the intention, at that time, to end his own life.
‘However, he had no known mental health difficulties, a successful and promising career and close personal and family relationships. There is no evidence of prior planning to end his life.’
For confidential support, call Samaritans on 116 123, visit samaritans.org or visit https://www.thecalmzone.net/get-support.