10 NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2011


● 42 Cdo’s Capt Mackenzie Green sends a situation report as his men storm a Taleban compound near Kajaki in January 2007 – as captured by PO(Phot) Gaz Faulkner’s iconic photograph


Afghan dits wanted


‘War Story’ initiative – which has the backing of the MOD – seeks to record fi rst-hand experiences of 21st-Century combat from men and women who were there. Their personal accounts from


EXPERTS at the nation’s most famous military museum want today’s sailors and marines to provide their stories of confl ict in Afghanistan. The Imperial War Museum’s


theatre, along with physical items, will help to tell the story of the confl ict in Afghanistan and will feature in an exhibition at the museum’s London headquarters. With e-mails and ‘blogs’


Internet-based diaries – replacing traditional letters and journals, historians fear that experiences and fi rst-hand accounts of present-day confl ict could be lost to future generations. “We have tonnes of stuff from the World Wars 1 and 2 and the Falkland Islands but we realised there was a huge hole in contemporary material,” said project manager Louise Skidmore.


digital and we know that it tends to disappear within a couple of years because people lose the data or change computers. Letters aren’t just put in an attic like they used to be. “War Story aims to overcome


“Most of the material now is –


£29m revamp which will double the amount of material on display by the time of the 100th anniversary of the confl ict’s outbreak. The existing display area


War Story project can use fi lm, art, photography or the written word to capture their thoughts, feelings and experiences during their deployment.


provide a panoramic sweep of life in Afghanistan, from day-to- day life to combat operations, equipment, working with Allies, downtime, and keeping in touch with loved ones back in the UK. In addition to these typical


experiences of war, the historians are also interested in slightly unusual ephemera – anything from


The IWM team is hoping to


the short-term electronic nature of modern communication methods and provide current and future generations with a better idea of what serving on Operation Herrick is really like.” Any personnel signing up to the


and fi lms, plus the recreation of a trench.


letters, photographs


word, the material can be logged directly on to the War Story website or handed over during post-tour workshops, the fi rst of which involved personnel from 40 Commando who’ve recently returned from a tour of duty on Operation Herrick 12. For more information about the project, visit www.iwm.org. uk/warstory or email warstory@ iwm.org.uk. Personnel should not include material which may breach operational security; if in doubt consult your chain of command. ■ THE museum’s Great War galleries are undergoing a


iPod playlists and favourite video games to unit insignia and unusual gifts people return with. In the case of the written


around HMS Antelope. It’s been four years since the Royal


I


features various galleries and cases charting the course of the 1914-18 war, through personal artefacts, uniforms,


The new galleries will feature more material, as well as additional interactive/multimedia displays to bring the stories of men and women caught up in WW1 to life. The revamp is due to be complete by the summer of 2014 and is the fi rst stage of a transformation of the London museum over the next decade. By 2019, the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 2, the galleries for the second global confl agration will also have been revamped, as well as the museum’s enormous glass atrium (home presently to a Polaris missile, a 4in gun from a Great War destroyer and several tanks) and other exhibition spaces and grounds. The whole project is expected to cost around £71m, paid for by the public, businesses and benefactors.


Navy’s standard was last fi xed to the wreck – courtesy of HMS Liverpool when she was on patrol in the Falklands.


N THE murk of San Carlos Water, the White Ensign billows once more in the current swirling


e g


This time it fell to an RN-led team of Service divers to head a few score feet down into the less-than-hospitable waters of San Carlos, the bleak anchorage which provided the springboard for the islands’ liberation three decades ago.


le rage


Antelope was part of the shield for the invasion force which was subjected to furious Argentine air attack during the fi rst fi ve days of the landings; the confi ned waters became known as Bomb Alley. The Type 21 frigate stood guard at the entrance to San Carlos Water on air defence duties. She was struck by two 1,000lb bombs on May 23 1982, which failed to explode, but did kill Std Mark Stephens.


As bomb disposal experts tried to disarm the explosives, one of the bombs triggered killing S/Sgt Jim Prescott and seriously injuring one of his colleagues. The resulting explosions broke Antelope’s back – and provided one of the iconic images of the confl ict (above) – the ship eventually settling on the San Carlos sea bed some 80ft below. Antelope – and other vessels lost during the 1982 war – is a designated war grave and is protected by law; permission has to be sought from the islands’ governor to dive on her. RN warships visiting these waters since have


replaced the White Ensign on Antelope, but the demise of ship’s divers means the task is performed infrequently. So a team from the British Forces South Atlantic Islands led by the RN’s Lt Roger Malone and including Cdre Rupert Wallace (Commodore Portsmouth Flotilla) and Lt Cdr Adrian Fryer, CO of HMS Clyde – the islands’ permanent naval guardian – descended into the cold, murky waters. “Dropping through the gloom on to the


fo’c’sle, we found the wreck encrusted with marine life and upright but with a large list to port,” said Lt Malone.


“Despite visibility being so bad that it was impossible to see from one end of her 4.5in gun to the other, the remains of the ensign fl own by HMS Liverpool on Landing Day in 2006 were evident, draped over the barrel.” The dive team moved forward and secured the new ensign on to a fairlead on the starboard side to let it fl oat freely in the current. “The dive was challenging and navigating


● The replacement ensign ‘fl ies’ on Antelope


● Flt Lt John Raine approaches the White Ensign left by HMS Liverpool’s divers in 2006 over Antelope’s 4.5in gun and (below) another shot of the encrusted main gun listing to port


Diving pictures: Lt Roger Malone


around the wreck was diffi cult not least due to the poor visibility but also the damage caused during her sinking and 28 years of her lying on the seabed,” Lt Malone added. “Many areas of the ship are unrecognisable – large holes are appearing in her hull and parts of the superstructure have collapsed in on themselves. “It was a great honour to be able to take part in this dive and remember those who perished during the confl ict. It was an emotional moment watching the White Ensign fl y over her again.” With the ensign changed, the divers surfaced


where a sea boat was waiting for them from Clyde; its crew ‘enjoyed’ the Falklands weather while the frogmen were fi xing the new fl ag in place.


Back on board HMS Clyde, there was a service of remembrance for the Type 21, before a wreath of poppies was cast into the silent waters.


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