Two serving Coldstream Guards are charged with stealing ammunition
- Kirtland Gill, 40, and Rajon Graham, 32, to face Westminster Magistrates’ Court
- Gill is charged with conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and possession
- Graham accused of conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and selling
- Charges came after an investigation by Met Police Flying Squad
Two serving members of the British Army have been charged with firearms offences, including conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition
The Metropolitan Police said Kirtland Gill, 40, and Rajon Graham, 32, will appear in Westminster Magistrates’ Court on July 1.
Gill is charged with conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and possession of a prohibited weapon – an imitation firearm capable of discharging noxious liquid.
Graham has been accused of conspiracy to sell or transfer ammunition and four counts of selling or transferring ammunition.
Regimental Sergeant Major Gill, aged 40 pictured on the long walk, Windsor, late last year
A Guard of Honour of the Coldstream Guards for French president Emmanuel Macron in 2020
Gill, who was born in Jamaica, was trumpeted by the MOD last year as the first black soldier to lead the Queen’s elite Coldstream Guards.
He was been chosen to be its next Regimental Sergeant Major – one of the most senior Army roles.
The son of a fisherman, he flew to Britain to visit relatives aged 20 and ended up joining the Army.
At the time he was a Warrant Officer Class 2, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, and had already met the Queen twice.
Speaking about his new post, which he was due to take up in April, the 40-year-old said: ‘I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to be the next Regimental Sergeant Major.
Gill, who was born in Jamaica, was trumpeted by the MOD last year as the first black soldier to lead the Queen’s elite Coldstream Guards
‘It’s not something that’s just given to you because of who you are, it is something you need to achieve.
‘Everyone who held this post before me would have gone through the same career path. I don’t think it has much to do with colour.’
The soldier, whose mother was a dressmaker, said: ‘I had a poor family background, I wasn’t well off where I could go to the top schools.’
He said his parents were ‘extremely proud’ of his career, adding: ‘I still remember the first time I went back in 2004, everyone was happy – ‘You’ve gone away and done something with your life.
‘You weren’t just going to sit down and watch the world go by’.
‘My family and friends have always been really proud.’
The warrant officer visited his family in Tooting, south London, in 2001, and became a British citizen in 2008.
He now lives in Windsor with his wife Sashagay, 31, and daughter Hayley, four.