A FALKLANDS veteran who served for 36 years in the armed forces has documented his time during the conflict on what’s 40 years to the day since the undeclared war began.
Peter Reed was just a young man when he first set foot on the Falkland Islands in South Georgia – having joined the armed forces in 1972 as a 16-year-old sapper.
For the ten weeks that the Falklands conflict dragged on (April 2 – June 14), Mr Reed was mainly based in Ripon with the Royal Engineers as a corporal section commander in 11 Field Squadron, but, on Monday, May 24, he was called to San Carlos Water in the Falklands.
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He remembers: “All we could hear were the guns firing and all we could do was pray. While we were being attacked the atmosphere below decks was a mixture of fear and excitement.”
In one shocking experience, the ship that he was travelling on, Logistic Sir Bedivere, was hit by a bomb. Thankfully, it went through the side of the ship and into the sea.
During his time on the Island, Mr Reed was part of Harrier Support, which included building emergency airfields and providing fuel in large floating tubes called Dracones, which could hold thousands of litres of aviation fuel.
In addition to his main tasks of support to the harrier force, the 11-field squadron was also involved in mine clearing operations at Goose Green, and, once the war was over, continued to provide support to the harriers and helicopter force, and the clean-up and rebuilding works around Port Stanley.
Despite 40 years now passing since that moment, Mr Reed, now 66, and living in Spennymoor, County Durham, with his wife Diane, remembers it like it was yesterday – since he kept a daily war diary and documented his time in the armed forces with his trusty camera.
Speaking to The Northern Echo, he said: “While I wasn’t as involved as the paratroopers, I was thrown in at the deep end – doing a job that I hadn’t done before.
“When you’re in the armed forces, it’s a strange bond involving comradeship. Not a lot of people get to go to war. At the time, there’d been no conflict for my lifetime, and it was a strange feeling.
“I believed the Falklands was the right thing to do, but, most of all, we had a job to do and just had to get on with the task in hand.”
With today (April 2) marking 40 years since the start of the Falklands conflict, Mr Reed will be delivering a reading at a commemorative event in Spennymoor later this morning.
He has also marked each year that’s gone by since the Falklands, and regularly catches up with comrades that he served with.
In 2017, he returned to the Falklands, and plans to go back there later this year.
Mr Reed added: “It was quite emotional going back after 35 years with a group of comrades from our former unit, but I have to say, the Falkland Islanders were very welcoming and still extremely grateful.
“We paid our respects to the fallen, as you do, and visited all the main battlefield. We shed a few tears and we talked a lot about our memories.
“I think about the Falklands a lot and I’m proud of the medal that I’ve got.”
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