My old sergeant Major Herbie Slaughter talks about the Falklands War.

Almost 25 years on, SIMON PARKIN reports how memories of the brief, but bloody fight for the Falklands are still as vivid as ever for all those who served.

The Portsmouth quaysides were crowded and awash with red, white and blue as well-wishers waved farewell as HMS Invincible and Hermes left bound for the South Atlantic.

Just days after the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, Britain was preparing to dispatch a task force that would eventually number 110 ships and 28,000 men.

For those onboard, stood alongside the Sea Harriers and Sea King helicopters as they waved goodbye to their loved onshore, the voyage was to be a journey into the unknown.

Many had never heard of the Falklands. Most believed the dispute over these remote islands would be settled diplomatically long before they reached the Southern oceans.

“It was like an adventure,” remembers ex-footballer Phil Stant, then a 19-year-old private in the Royal Logistic Corps. “Once everybody knew they were going, they wanted to get there and get at them, that was the feeling on the ship. It was only when you actually got there and things started happening you thought, 'this is for real'.”

Many servicemen and women had been away from their units or on home leave and were as surprised as the general public by the sudden turn of events.

Herbie Slaughter, who'd joined the army at 16, following the footsteps of his father and grandfather who'd both served in the Royal Norfolk Regiment, was on a course in Aldershot when he was told he'd be joining the Falklands-bound task force.

Then a Sergeant Major with the 12th Air Defence Regiment of the Royal Artillery, his unit, consisting of 131 men, was responsible for many of the Rapier surface-to-air missiles that would play a vital role in the conflict. They sailed aboard troop ship Sir Geraint and despite cramped conditions morale was high. Read the rest here


© Mack (RG) The thoughts of a Falklands War Veteran.