Family of Wirral Falklands hero to consider seeking judicial review over government's refusal to award him posthumous gallantry medal

Relatives of Cpl Stewart McLaughlin believe MoD investigation should be re-opened to consider new evidence.The family of a Wirral Falklands hero is considering seeking a judicial review over the government’s refusal to award him a gallantry medal. It comes after a Ministry of Defence inquiry ruled there was no evidence Cpl Stewart McLaughlin, who died during the battle of Mount Longdon in 1982, was treated differently from other servicemen who were considered for an award at the time. The Wallasey soldier’s family has been leading a campaign for him to be posthumously recognised, arguing that a citation was mislaid and never considered. Cpl McLaughlin’s commanding officer in the Falklands, Lieutenant-General Sir Hew Pike, has since rewritten it, stating his actions fell “firmly in the Victoria Cross bracket”. Family members say the investigation, which found there was no evidence a citation was prepared for Cpl McLaughlin, ignored key evidence that a citation was written – which they say they could have provided if they had been consulted. Wallasey MP Angela Eagle and former paratrooper Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, who have both supported the family’s campaign, have now written a joint letter to Lord Astor, the minister responsible for medals, expressing their disappointment in how it was carried out and calling on him to re-open the case.Read more HERE


(RG) They should do the right thing and award this brave soldier a gallantry medal, but for some reason they wont. I wish them the best of luck with their battle.

'I never blamed the soldiers who shot Ian'

The heroic actions of Sgt Ian McKay in the Falklands led to his being awarded a posthumous VC. His mother, Freda, tells Elizabeth Grice how proud she was of his bravery - but how she has struggled for 25 years to accept his death 25 years on: full coverage of the Falklands War On the day the Falklands war ended, Freda McKay heard by telephone that her eldest son Ian, who was 29, had been killed in action on Mount Longdon in the final push to Port Stanley. She was at work in the personnel department of British Steel in Sheffield when the phone rang. It was 9.30am. The major's wife came right to the point: "I'm very sorry to tell you that Ian's been killed." She added four words that have been deployed to soften the blow for stricken families since war was invented: "He died very courageously." In Sgt McKay's case, this was not a sympathetic platitude but the absolute truth. On the night of June 11/12, 1982, McKay had stormed and taken an Argentinian machine-gun post that was endangering his men during the British advance on the capital. Under a hail of fire, he led comrades from the Parachute Regiment forward. When the others fell, dead or wounded, he went on alone, lobbing grenades into the enemy bunker, well aware of how exposed he was. He was hit and collapsed on the bunker as it fell silent at the moment of victory. His posthumous VC was one of only two awarded during the conflict. The other went to Colonel Herbert "H" Jones, who died at Goose Green. "Undeterred, he performed with outstanding selflessness, perseverance and courage," said McKay's citation. "With a complete disregard for his own safety, he displayed courage and leadership of the highest order, and was an inspiration to all those around him."Read more HERE  R.I.P.

Falklands: The Battle of Mount Longdon

Aged just 17 – and officially too young to go to war – Mike Southall took part in the battle to secure Mount Longdon.It was the night of June 11, 1982. The soldiers of 3 Para, each carrying 130lb on their backs, had been marching across unforgiving terrain in freezing temperatures for two weeks, sleeping in the open, when the Company Sergeant Major gathered them together. “If you have anybody up there,” he told them, pointing skywards, “you might want to have a word with them because some of us are not going to see daylight tomorrow.” Mike Southall was one of those soldiers. He was just 17, a private fresh out of training, and had never been further from home than Ireland. Officially he was too young to go to war, but he had chosen to go anyway. He looked at the sergeant major as if to say “I hope you’re not serious”, then he glanced at his mate, Jason Burt, also 17. “He just gave me that look where you lift your eyes upwards – he was killed that night. I think at that stage I was scared for the first time.” They had reached the base of Mount Longdon without being spotted by the 200 Argentine troops who had spent the past month turning the mountain into a fortress. But when Corporal Brian Milne stepped on an anti-tank mine, all hell broke loose. “There was a flash, a bang and then screaming,” recalls Southall. “I was terrified, we realised we were in a mine field and we were told to run for the rocks. Seconds later the Argentinians opened up, firing at us with everything. I ran and found myself on my own, I had lost the rest of my section and the company. I had been spotted and some Argentines began to engage me. Read more HERE


"In the UK a 17 year old cannot legally drink in a pub, vote, watch an 18 rated movie , ironically even one about war, but he can however fight in a brutal battle the most vicious British troops had fought since the Korean War."

3 Para Falklands 2 Sarah Bettens "The Soldier Song"

The Battle of Mount Longdon was an engagement of the Falklands War between British and Argentine forces, which took place on 11–12 June 1982, resulting in the British victory and their occupation of a key position around the besieged Argentine garrison.