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October 1st, 2013 
Peter Nolan
Major Sargent, who led the mission to ‘clear’ an area of land between two bases,
said: “We knew that the area historically had IEDs there.
“I chose that route at the time because I thought it was the safest route, based
on intelligence.
“I made the call wrongly, but I made it in good faith.
“The advice I got was to follow the route. I would have gone in on foot if I had
known what I know now.”
Lt Col Carl Frankland said factors along the route made it “a very vulnerable area.”
He said: “The fact that it was on a hill made it vulnerable and it was used frequently.
The area also had a very high instance of IEDs.
“The route would not have been the one I would have chosen unless I was carrying
out a high-risk search.
“The frequency of use of the route and the ability to watch it made it vulnerable.
“My advice would have been a methodical approach but they more than likely would
not have been able to.
“That process is very time-consuming and takes around 10 hours to cover 1km.
You have to balance risk against the tempo of operations.
“The route itself was sufficiently risky. They should have stopped and dismounted
the vehicle.
“But the mission imperative was to move at a certain tempo. To stop could have delayed
the mission.
“I’m not convinced that the advice they were given was entirely appropriate
for the route that they were on.”
Cpl Alan Fernandez, who was in the armoured vehicle with Sgt Davidson, said:
“I remember feeling myself flying through the air. It took a while for
[what had happened] to kick in.
“I pulled myself out of the vehicle and that’s when I saw Sgt. Davidson lying on
the ground unconscious.”
Cpt Edward Wooton, a lieutenant at the time, was in the vehicle in front of Sgt.
Davidson’s.
He said: “I heard a bang and my vehicle jumped forward – I felt the blow go through
it.
“There was so much smoke and debris falling around us, I didn’t know [at
first] which vehicle had been hit.
“When the dust cleared, we looked to the road and saw the vehicle behind us on its
roof.
“It was almost unrecognisable as bits had been blown off.”
Since Sgt Davidson’s death there is more guidance for commanders with regard
to route planning with a traffic light system to signal how dangerous a
route is and how thoroughly it should be checked.
Coroner Nicola Mundy said: “The track where the incident occurred was quite clearly
along a high risk route and there were extremely high instances of IEDs.
“There was a clear failure to enter into dialogue about how best to manage
this risk.
“No such discussion took place and there were alternative options which could have
been considered and possibly adopted.
“The advice failed to appreciate that route monitoring was not continuous and there
had been ample time for insurgents to place IEDs.”
Ms Mundy said: “Had full advice been provided, there might have been an opportunity
to change the route.
“Innadequate advice was given when advice was sought to protect the troops.”
Ms Mundy told Doncaster Coroner’s Court: “It is clear that Lee was a very well
respected individual.
“He was a caring and devoted husband and father and he will be very much missed.”
After the inquest Sgt Davidson’s widow Samantha said his family, including his three
children, were “so very proud” of him.
A statement read out by Captain Simon Stott, said: “The questions that our family
had have been answered.
“We are satisfied that everything possible was done to try and save Lee’s life.
“We all miss Lee and are so very proud of him.
“He lives on in his family but especially in his three children he leaves behind.”
Hundreds gathered at Sgt, Davidson’s funeral, which was held at St Nicholas Church
in his home town of Thorne, near Doncaster, South Yorks., in October last
year.
Sgt Davidson was the 427th member of UK forces to have died since operations
in Afghanistan began in October 2001.
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