NAVY NEWS, MAY 2009 45
Islands of fi re
EVERYONE knows the back of back of of
“WWe are with ye are ou, we feel
Cpl Peter Robinson.
the deep roots of the thhe d
Strapped to it is his kit and one kit and one
soil thaso t is enclosed
Union Jack, billowing in the fierce the ffierce
by our borderb s
South Atlantic breeze.
and to be free and a
It is a moment captured forevorevveer r
proud,prp generations
on celluloid and burned into the thee
of Argentiniansoff
public consciousness: the iconic ic
havvee had to ge ive and
photograph of the Falklands
sacrsacriifice evf erything,”
conflict.
one Buenos one Buue Aires doctor
A decade later, the green
wrote to a soldierwrote too a .
Dock around
Life on a
beret would be immortalised
Paratrooper L/Cpl troopo Vince
in a statue erected outside thethhee
Bramley sailed with theBramleley y s i
Royal Marines Museum in Eastney and
CanberCanbe ra from Southampton.
the clock
string and
ney y and
ra fro
unveiled by Lady Thatcher.
The banter betwThe banter b een green and
He had the “most famous back in the bacckkiin the
red berets on the liner subsided red berets on
IF YOU ever needed proof that
world”. But his celebrity status would put
as the men waved to loved ones on
the skyline of Portsmouth wasn’t
a prayer
an intolerable strain on his marriage and
the quayside.
– and still isn’t – a thing of beauty,
contribute to its break-up.
“I didn’t feel, nor have I ever
you’ll fi nd it in Stephen Courtney
But the image lives on – and the barren track
felt to this day, that our actions
and Brian Patterson’s Home of
is no less windswept, no less austere now than
were wrong – nor did any member
the Fleet (History Press, £14.99
AN AMERICAN naval offi cer
it was one June day in 1982.
of that task force I spoke to then
ISBN 978-0-7524-49425).
stared at a Swordfi sh for the fi rst
How can we say that? Because the exact
or since.”
Their excellent little photo-
time during World War 2.
spot was photographed a generation later
Men signed their bombs – the
history charts Portsmouth Naval
“Where did that come from?”
for Gordon Ramsey’s monumental photo-
Argentinians named them after
Base from the days of the pre-
he asked.
history of the conflict: The Falklands War
their girls, the Brits drew sharks
dreadnoughts to the Type 23 era
“Fairey’s,” came the answer
Then and Now (After the Battle, £47.95 978-
and called them Eric (well, some
(it stops short of HMS Daring).
from an RN offi cer nearby.
1870067713).
did).
Portsmouth of the 1920s, 30s
“That fi gures!” the American
The After the Battle team has produced
And letters to and from the front
and 40s is more Lowry than
replied.
some magisterial volumes down the years with
reveal the same hopes and fears as
Wyllie with the chimneys of the
The Stringbag, so named
a ‘then and now’ theme: Arnhem, D-Day,
those from soldiers, sailors and
dockyard belching and the ships
because it could carry so much
Battle of Britain, the fall of France.
airmen of previous generations.
in port getting up steam.
gear, may have been ungainly,
The Falklands War Then and Now is
“I never before thought that
And Portsmouth of the late
slow and obsolete, but it was also
undoubtedly in the same league. It is profusely
I might not see you again,”
60s and beyond is peppered with
deadly – tough, resilient, and full
illustrated with contemporary images of the
Lt Cdr Glen Robinson-Moltke,
equally unattractive tower blocks
of surprises just like the men who
conflict and, for the landward side, the same
HMS Coventry’s XO.
within and without the base.
fl ew them, writes Vice Admiral Sir
location on the islands as it is today (hence the
“I have been through such
But it’s not just chimneys and ● HMS Coventry’s XO Lt Cdr Glen Robinson-Moltke on
Adrian Johns, former Rear Admiral
‘then and now’).
periods on this trip and it is very his wedding day. The offi cer was fi lled with foreboding
great ships that we’ve lost down
Fleet Air Arm.
Those ‘today’ shots show that much of the
thought-provoking. Life is too as the campaign took its toll of the Fleet
the years, but also that sense of
Charles Lamb was one of those
detritus of war remains on the islands. Time
short – and I started mine with
community spirit and the human
men. He was, by any standards,
and the elements have not yet devoured a shot-
you far too late.” June 8 – but has since befriended one of the
touch.
a quite extraordinary man who
up Pucara at Goose Green, mortars and a field
Glen Robinson-Moltke died when Coventry men responsible, 800 NAS’ David Morgan.
Take scenes of the launch of
packed a lifetime’s worth of
kitchen rust on the barren slopes of Mount
was sunk on May 25. “I can proudly say I will wake up every
HMS Sirius in the mid-60s and
experience into just a few years
Harriet.
Peter Walpole was more fortunate, although morning to be a better man for I have used
HMS Effingham four decades
of WW2.
This is neither a conventional account of
his ship, HMS Sheffield, was not. what life gave me and learned from it.”
before – far more emotional and
War in a Stringbag – (Orion,
memorable than the (nevertheless
£8.99 ISBN 9780304358410)
the campaign, nor a typical coffee table photo
From the bridge, he saw the Exocet racing He and his comrades, as well as the 30,000
impressive) unveiling of HMS
reprinted to mark the 100th
history.
inexorably towards the Type 42. A generation British veterans, have the most fitting tribute in
Clyde a few years ago.
anniversary of naval aviation – is
It is a mix of anthology – scores of first-
ago, The Sunday Times quoted his reaction: this magnificent book. It is a very moving and
Nor is there anything these
Lamb’s personal account of that
hand accounts from both sides – with detailed
“My God, it’s a missile.” His true reaction human memorial to the men and women of
days to replace the Christmas
experience, a story of danger,
captions to every photograph, all printed on
was rather less stiff upper lip. “What the fuck 1982 and belongs on the bookshelf of anyone
party for children of welders and
endurance, raw courage and
excellent paper throughout this outstanding
is that?” interested in the conflict.
burners held in a cafe on The
irrepressible humour.
600-plus-page volume.
After alerting the ops room, he threw himself For many, the Falklands war defined their
Hard on the eve of World War 2.
Charles Lamb started in the
There is no passing judgment here, no
to the deck. In a flash, his world – and that of lives. To many Britons it defines the islands.
And stunning though the
merchant service and the RNR
assessments of the rights and wrongs of the
300 shipmates – was changed forever. To islanders, it is a reminder of the price
lightshow at the end of the 2005
in the 1930s. He wanted to fl y
war. The protagonists speak for themselves.
“It really was the most frightful crash, like of freedom – something they cherish daily,
International Fleet Review was,
but there was no pipeline for
The result is arguably the most fair-minded
your worst car accident, but ten times worse – as anyone who has visited the Falklands will
it can’t quite match the fireworks
reservists and no opportunity to
and even-handed treatment of the conflict
the noise, pressure wave, the sound of such a tell you.
for the 1935 gathering of naval
transfer to the Royal Navy.
(the rolls of honour of both sides are listed at
terrific explosion.” And so, understandably, Falklanders
might at Spithead with the fleet
So he joined the RAF in 1935
the end and as much prominence is given to
Sheffield had been a “perfect working ship”. celebrated the 25th anniversary of their
‘all lit up’.
but less than three years later
Argentine dead throughout as to the British).
Now, one second later, she was “irrevocably liberation in 2007, while veterans on both sides
Perhaps, after all, the Pompey
the FAA was transferred back to
That even-handedness means that the reader
changed”. recalled fallen comrades.
skyline is beautiful...
the Admiralty and Lamb along
appreciates the bravery of friend and foe all the
Understandably, there are few ‘men of 82’ At the National Memorial Arboretum, the
with many others were delighted
more.
not haunted by their experiences. family of AB Iain Boldy – killed in HMS
to change back into dark blue
Argentine pilots do not look all that
“Seeing the missile from the bridge is Argonaut – laid a wreath “to a much-loved
uniform.
different from their Fleet Air Arm and RAF something you don’t forget. It was a sense of
brother, still sadly missed” at the newly-
He was sunk in HMS
counterparts. The dead of HMS Sheffield and awesome power coming towards you. For ages
dedicated cenotaph.
Courageous only a fortnight after
Ardent smile back from the pages of photo afterwards I closed my eyes and that’s all I
Ten thousand miles away, in Ushuaia
the outbreak of war having been
albums, as do Argentine troops posing near could see,” recalls HMS Sheffield’s S/Lt Steve
hundreds of Argentinians gathered in front of
the last man to land onboard in
Goose Green, shortly before being killed in the Iacovou.
an imposing memorial, with the outline of the
his Swordfi sh minutes before
British assault. Former Argentine Skyhawk pilot Hector islands carved out of it, and an inscription:
the carrier was torpedoed by a
Indeed, poring over these pages, it’s clear Sanchez was also dogged for years by what he “To the people of Ushuaia who, with their
U-boat.
that differences over the Falklands/Malvinas went through. blood, irrigated the roots of our sovereignty
He subsequently saw service
aside, there is much linking friend and foe. “I have looked death in the eye and cheated over the Malvinas. We will return.”
attacking E-boats off Dunkirk,
Argentinians and Britons were convinced of my way out,” he says. Such is the long shadow of the Falklands
mining heavily defended German
the justness of their cause. He lost three comrades in a single day – war.
shipping lanes, path-fi nding for
the raid on the Italian fl eet at
Taranto, fl ying combat sorties
in the Mediterranean and from
a secret base behind enemy When the sands ran with blood
lines in Greece, ditching after
HMS Illustrious was disabled by OMAHA Beach, 6.30am, Tuesday been transcribed and included and included nd included “I“I cra crawwled back to the l touch on every aspect of D-Day”.
Stukas, defending Malta, raiding June 6 1944. in this anthology. watwater’er’e s s edge,” recalled The result is that his work is
over North Africa, and enduring “I can still see those fresh-faced The result is a crossa cross landllanding craft very British (there’s only one
18 months in a Vichy French boys getting out of the boat. It section of voices fromfrom cocommander S/Lt American voice within its pages,
prisoner of war camp. comes back to me from time-to- Normandy – plannernnners, HHilaire Benbow. no Canadian as far as we could HP BOOKFINDERS: Established
This is an epic account of a time, that I was a link in their intelligence experrts, ““There was see, and no German). professional service locating out
legendary aircraft and the men death. the pilots, thehe litliterally a wall Perhaps that is understandable,
of print titles on all
who fl ew in it. Lamb tells his “I know I had to do my job, infantry, the aboabout two-foot for the accounts are drawn from
subjects. No obligation or SAE
story in such a readable, matter- they had to do their job, but I paratroopers, the hhigh of dead bodies igh i the archives of the Imperial War
of-fact way, but his personal was in some way responsible for commandos, all along the surf line. Museum, but it would nevertheless
required. Contact: Mosslaird,
all ala on
courage, determination and putting them there and it does the gunners ““The sea hadThe T have been nice to have a snapshot
Brig O’ Turk, Callander, FK17 8HT
resilience shine through every haunt me.” and, yes, the washeashed all their clothing d ald at least of experiences from friend
Telephone/Fax: (01877) 376377
page and stand as an inspiration The words of Jimmy Green. sailors (who often n ooff and they wff and they ere naked – and foe.
martin@hp-bookfinders.co.uk
for all who serve in today’s FAA Not an American but a Briton, seem to be the most most ththeir shireir shirts atts and so on had www.hp-bookfinders.co.uk
in this centenary year of naval a Royal Navy sub-lieutenant forgotten of the Ovverlord erlord disadisappeared,ppeared,d washed off by
aviation. and commanding officer of a participants). ththe surff.
■ NOT content with one landing craft (assault) flotilla in Mne ‘Tommy’ Treacher reacher was as “They“They all had cropped heads all had
illustrated carrier volume (see Normandy. aboard a landing craft bound for and as the sea came inwards, the
opposite), Cdr David Hobbs His is one of the Forgotten Sword Beach when it was struck hair lay flat and as the receded it
has produced an entirely British Voices of D-Day given an by a German shell. Eleven dead, all stood up on end, so you had all
photographic record of ‘ships ‘audience’ by Roderick Bailey 12 wounded in a flash. these coconuts if you like, the hair
with wings’, the latest in Maritime (Ebury, £19.99 ISBN 978-0-09- “As we were getting closer, the on these heads, going backwards
Books ‘In Focus’ series. 193011-0). matelots were ready to push the and forwards.”
RN Aircraft Carriers (£14.99 Britons – probably rightly – ramps down and there was blood This an excellent addition to
ISBN 978-1-904459-347) is bemoan the American-centric everywhere. Another shell hit us an ever-growing series which has
packed with 150 images from the focus on the Normandy landings. and killed all four – they were already covered subjects as diverse
first (Furious-Vindictive-Argus) Instrumental to the success of the decapitated. as the Somme, the Holocaust and
to the last, or rather the latest, invasion was British naval, air and Tommy Treacher waded ashore the clandestine world of WW2
Queen Elizabeth. land power (as well as the island to Normandy. First through the spies.
What’s striking flicking through itself as the springboard for the blood of comrades, then through But it is not without a couple
these pages is that despite the operation). the waters of the Channel. of flaws. It’s a real shame the
change from biplane-monoplane- Hundreds of the thousands of Along the coast at Omaha, photographs were not printed on
jet-helicopter, despite ski jumps British participants subsequently where British personnel crewed glossy paper.
and catapults, fundamentally, the recorded their experiences for the landing craft and cleared the More serious, however, is its
carrier hasn’t changed too much sound archive at the Imperial War obstacles on the beach, things one-sidedness. The author readily
since HMS Eagle in the 1920s. Museum, accounts which have were even grimmer. admits that his book “cannot
045_NN_May.indd 1 17/4/09 11:07:27
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