The Falklands Conflict 40 Years On - And A Book Full Of Memories

We are now 40 years on from what history marks as a minor conflict, albeit one that was some 8,000 miles away from home ports and airfields and one that was an epic test of the UK's ability to project power - and to resupply that power once in theatre.

I posted a note a little while ago about a book of memories: memories of the young men that fought in that conflict and for whom it wasn't just a conflict; it was a proper shooting war. This is a book that has been compiled and curated by a good pal of mine Tony Sickelmore and this somewhat poignant, recently published book is timely at this 40 years on point, because this is possibly the last time that this conflict will be formally marked by formed bodies of former Royal Marines this coming June - because time marches on...

I served with Tony in the Falklands and this book has been compiled from the written down memories of 38 former Royal Marine members of 42 Commando’s Lima Company. The book also includes the written down memories of ranks attached to Lima Company including a former Royal Artillery Officer, 3 former Royal Marines attached in support and those of a war widow, who in the way that wives and families do, also served.

Between them, they share over 165 personal memories about their place, in their Falklands 'War'. Reading the 'dits' you would think that the conflict has just happened because the memoirs are so clear and vivid but, when you read about the same incident from another Marine’s perspective, their versions tend to differ one from the other; hence the title ‘In Our Own Words’ and recollections, due in no small part to the fog of war, will vary!?

The memoirs are from every link of the Lima Company chain of command: Marines in the Sections, Section 2ICs and Corporals, Two Troop Sergeants, Three Troop Officers, the Company 2IC, the Company's Officer Commanding and others, all offer up their recollections.?

This is a not-for-profit book: proceeds from sales after costs will benefit the Royal Marines Historical Society. This extraordinary, intimate collection of the innermost thoughts and recollections of predominantly young soldiers at war is available to purchase now. To place your order, follow this link to the Royal Marines Historical Society website:

Afternote:

This is exactly what it says on the tin: it's the recollections of young fighting men and a war widow, set down in their own words. I was privileged to be asked by Tony to ‘red pen’ the content for typos, grammatical errors and suchlike but I took the view that that would be inappropriate, because to an extent that would compromise the sometimes-painful efforts of the contributors that managed to get their stories down on paper.

So this is definitely not a polished treatise on warfare best practice: it’s a collection of brave men’s and a brave woman’s thoughts on the matter and otherwise 'dodgy' spelling and grammar in my view, give these recollections genuine credence and not inconsiderable gravity.

It's a good read.