THE father of a soldier who died at Deepcut barracks, in Surrey, 18 years ago said yesterday he hoped the decision to order a new inquest would bring him closure.

The word closure is derived from the Latin clausura, which means conclusion.

Of course, the idea a parent will somehow reach a point where they no longer grieve over a lost child is a nonsense.

Grief is not something with a beginning, a middle and an end.

The act of grieving is not something that can be worked through and then set aside. It is not a time-limited phenomenon.

Private Cheryl James was one of four soldiers who died at Deepcut between 1995 and 2002.

Although a suicide verdict was recorded on one, open verdicts were recorded on the other three, including Pte Geoff Gray, from Seaham, in County Durham, leaving their families with more questions than answers.

Since then, there we have had an investigation by a deputy high court judge and a report by the Adult Learning Inspectorate, but calls for a public inquiry have been rejected.

Pte James’ family believe a jury inquest will be the next-best thing to a public inquiry.

Their case has been taken up by Liberty, which claims it has uncovered evidence that was not thoroughly examined in the original inquest.

We hope a new inquest can come up with a satisfactory explanation for Pte James’ death. By doing so, it might just give her family a kind of closure and help the healing process.

They may never stop grieving, but they might be able to start living again.