Colonel who was Bosnia and Kosovo veteran shot himself dead after becoming overwhelmed with Army workload following defence cuts Lieutenant Colonel Robert Shaw was finding it difficult to manage his work The 52-year-old was deputy commander of Warminster Garrison Married father-of-three due to retire from the Army in three years His wife Angela found him dead in his car on June 2 in a secluded lane Lieutenant Colonel Robert Shaw shot himself dead after becoming overwhelmed by pressures of military life A senior Army officer shot himself dead after becoming overwhelmed by pressures of military life, an inquest heard today. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Shaw, 52, was finding it increasingly difficult to manage his work as deputy commander of the Warminster Garrison in Wiltshire. The inquest heard evidence from other Army officers who spoke of how cuts to Col Shaw's support staff increased his own workload. The married father-of-three was also due to retire from the Army in three years and was worried about his future career and paying his children's school fees. The inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court also heard that Col Shaw believed he had relationship difficulties with his elderly mother and his own children. His wife, Angela, found him dead in his car on the morning of Sunday, June 2, this year in a secluded country lane at Quenington, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire. He last spoke to Mrs Shaw on the telephone at around 5pm the previous evening. He had left their home in Warminster that afternoon having told his wife he was going to an appointment at a gun shop in Cirencester to sell his weapons. When he failed to return home Mrs Shaw thought he had gone to see his elderly mother who lived in Fairford, Gloucestershire. On the Sunday morning Mrs Shaw drove to her mother-in-law's home and when she saw that his car was not there went to look for him. She found her husband slumped in the front seat of his car with a gunshot wound to his chest and a rifle by his side. The inquest heard that Col Shaw also had a copy of the Bible on his lap and had written the word "sorry" on the windscreen. Around a dozen notes were also found addressed to his family and friends, which he had left in his car and at home. Col Shaw had also left his office at the Army base 'immaculate', leaving all his paperwork in order and on a whiteboard had written an up to date 'to do' list, which at the bottom he had again written 'sorry'. His mobile phone was also recovered from his office. In a written statement, Mrs Shaw said that from January this year he confided in her that things were getting on top of him. 'He was not his usual self and he started to obsess about small matters, which had become very serious to him,' she said. He had started a mild course of anti-depressants and he exhibited considerable anxiety over lots of things. Major William Common (left) said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Shaw was given a too heavy workload at the inquest which was also attended by his wife Angela (right) Mrs Shaw said he was concerned the police would seize his legally-held firearms if they knew he had been taking anti-depressants. The inquest heard that Col Shaw, who held strong religious beliefs, had confided in an Army chaplain about his feelings and had also started seeing a therapist. Col Shaw, who had served in Bosnia and Kosovo, had been evacuated from the first Gulf War in 1991 suffering acute stress having exacerbated a pre-existing depression and spent time recuperating in hospital. The inquest heard evidence from Major William Common, who was critical of the workload placed upon Col Shaw. He said he had first met Col Shaw in July 2010 when he was posted to Warminster to take over from him as deputy commander. Lieutenant Colonel Robert Shaw was commander of the Warminster Garrison in Wiltshire 'I worked reasonably closely with Robert Shaw who I found to be a thoroughly decent, approachable, genial, charming man,' Maj Common said. We spoke almost every day and on occasions would have wide-ranging discussions about life in general and family. I understood Robert Shaw to be a reasonably happy person but I was aware of difficulties with both his mother and mother-in-law, who appeared to be particularly demanding. It was clear to me that Robert found it difficult to meet the competing demands of his role as CO and deputy garrison commander. He always worked a full day and was often still in his office when I left yet he seemed to find it hard to programme routine activities like writing timely appraisal reports of his civilian and military staff. His grasp of the critical garrison-wide PFI contract, Project Allenby/Connaught, was never more than minimal. Major Common added: 'Fundamentally Robert Shaw was a decent officer who I was proud to serve with but was of limited ability.' He said that the supporting staff posts were left vacant and the arrival of Colonel Peter Merriman as commander of Warminster Garrison in 2011 saw an increase in Col Shaw's workload. Maj Common said Col Merriman was 'determined' to set up a new officers" training course and build a new larger gymnasium. Maj Common said his last meeting with Col Shaw was on May 21 when he was shocked by his appearance. Robert was standing over his desk pouring over some papers. He looked tired and depressed and would neither meet my gaze or engage in conversation,' he said. I was shocked by his demeanour as in our three years he had always been open, friendly and welcome. He seemed to me to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. It was completely unfair and totally unreasonable to expect Robert Shaw to provide unit level support services, including meeting additional demands, without adequate staff Major William Common Maj Common said the thought that the post of deputy commander was not the right one for Col Shaw. I do not know why Robert Shaw took his own life. 'I do know that while a thoroughly decent man, he was an officer of limited ability, short staffed and under great pressure at work,' he said. He clearly found it extremely difficult to prioritise and to manage his time in the workplace without the added pressures of creating new training courses and building additional unplanned facilities. It was completely unfair and totally unreasonable to expect Robert Shaw to provide unit level support services, including meeting additional demands, without adequate staff. The inquest also heard evidence from Rev Mark Haldon-Jones, an Army padre, who said that Col Shaw had described to him problems he felt he had in his relationship with his parents, in particular his mother. Acting Gloucestershire Coroner David Dooley summarised the padre's evidence. He said: 'He had lost his deputy and there was an increased workload but even in those circumstances the padre confirms he behaved like a true gentleman and saw his service in Queen and country. A suicide verdict was given today at Lieutenant Shaw's inquest at Gloucestershire Coroner's Court Robert was obviously a troubled soul and they often talked in biblical terms and Robert had started carrying a New Testament. The padre encouraged Robert to look to his family rather than the Army as he only had a few years left before his retirement. 'It appears Robert has requested to extend his stay at Warminster rather than move to a new posting and later regretted that but didn't want to let people down who had supported him in his request to extend his stay.' Mr Dooley added: 'Robert was constantly using the phrase my loving little family and was clearly desiring to be a family man but felt he was not a good husband, father or son and this was reflected in a great reduction of his own self-esteem over this period. Lt Col Shaw confided in me on the Friday morning before his death by mobile phone and he seemed very calm and completely different from the manifestation of the previous months. He looked tired and depressed and would neither meet my gaze or engage in conversation From his conversation and voice I genuinely believed he had moved on and he seemed more at ease with himself. The inquest heard that Col Shaw had discussed with colleagues taking leave but had disclosed the nature of the problems he had. They noticed that there appeared to be deterioration in Col Shaw's social interaction and he seemed to be pausing a lot and repeatedly going over same details. 'He was particularly distracted and he focused on issues that required less attention,' Major Lisa Phillips said in a statement. He seemed more preoccupied with his reputation than the issues concerning. He asked for several briefs on the same issues yet continued to ask every 10 to 15 minutes for updates as if he had not heard the information. He called me three times later that night to confirm the same details and I asked again if all was well and he responded "We all have too much work to do" and that was amidst several long silences. Maj Phillips, who examined Col Shaw's office following his death, added: 'His personal diary was empty and this level or organisation was unusual based on the time I have worked alongside him. It felt impersonal and rationally organised. Col Shaw, who had been married 20 years, had seen his GP and had been prescribed both sleeping tablets and anti-depressants. A post mortem examination found that Col Shaw had died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. Toxicology tests found traces of the medication he had been prescribed. No traces of alcohol or other non-prescribed drugs were found during the blood tests. Verdict: Suicide For confidential support call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details