HMS Sheffield Falklands: Veterans gather for services in Sheffield and Portsmouth

Civic leaders, veterans and members of the public joined together in Sheffield on Sunday to mark the anniversary – and dozens of servicemen who sailed on board the sunk destroyer held a service at the memorial for the Falklands conflict in Portsmouth.

HMS Sheffield, which had been based in Portsmouth, was struck by an Exocet anti-ship missile from an Argentine aircraft on May 4, 1982, resulting in the deaths of 20 sailors and leaving 26 injured.

Veterans said they felt proud of their service in the conflict, but were still pained by the resulting mental scars – and the lack of public awareness about the sacrifices made.

Guy ‘Tug’ Wilson, who organised the Portsmouth event, said he still vividly remembers the day when he was a 30-year old petty officer gun serving onboard.

He said: “Obviously I remember the missile coming in and the after effects.

“The flames – we were doing the hot-shoe shuffle as our shoes were melting to the deck.

“But it takes a long time to explain to families about what happened, what we saw.

Scores of men were left to tackle the floating inferno with just buckets of water as a large amount of fire control equipment was lost below deck – but there was no signs of fear from the crew, according to HMS Sheffield veteran Clive Carrington-Wood.

The 63-year-old said: “What really struck me at the time is that it wasn’t frightening. There was no panicking.

“We just got on with our jobs. It was because of our naval training. Our naval training was absolutely first class.

"HMS Sheffield did sober up the navy. One of my friends had been very gung-ho – and that changed.”

Fellow sailor John Coles agreed: “The training kicks in. Everyone just went into automatic mode.

“The passage of time just seemed to fly by.

“It felt like 20 minutes – but it was a whole day.”

Some injuries sustained in the attack were less serious – and even solicit a smile forty years later, according to the veterans.

Remembering the much-appreciated rescue efforts made by sailors on HMS Arrow, Guy said: “Sailors on HMS Arrow, they were throwing bags of sweets and drinks at us – I think we got more injuries from that than from anything else.

John added: “I was nearly KO’ed by a can of Coca-Cola someone had thrown at us.

But members of the ship’s crew said they still carry the grief and trauma of the attack to this day.

Guy said: “Mental health is still not properly recognised as a battle injury. We need to do more.

“PTSD can never be cured but you can develop strategies to deal with it.

“I still get up in the morning and do a body check – clenching my teeth, checking my arms, listening to my heartbeat, and then I will spend five minutes doing meditation to calm down.”

Alan Knowles, the son of sailor Alan John Knowles, who died in the attack at the age of 32, said the general public’s lack of knowledge about the Falklands conflict and HMS Sheffield is ‘extremely frustrating’.

The 51-year-old added: “I have asked some of the kids I work with if they have heard about the Falklands – and they haven’t.

“It’s something the should have heard of and it isn’t.

“We should show more respect for our armed forces.”

Speaking of the efforts to reclaim the Falkland islands from the Argentine military dictatorship, John added: “A lot of people take it for granted.

“People forget that navy was going through a massive shrinkage at the time.

“It was a shoe-string operation, to do what we did with what we had.”

Having come through fire and fear together, respect and admiration for the Royal Navy remains high among those who served.

For a moment on Sunday morning Sheffield city centre came to a standstill to witness a parade by the Sheffield Sea Cadets at the war memorial in Barker’s Pool.

The Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Professor Dame Hilary Chapman DBE and the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, councillor Gail Smith, took the salute accompanied by other senior dignitaries.

Wreath laying and a service followed at the HMS Sheffield Memorial at the Cathedral.

Father Grant Naylor, priest of St Matthew’s Church in Carver Street, said: “We gather together conscious of the sacrifice made 40 years ago by those men that went down with the Sheffield. And with those who were injured and those who came back with the mental scars of fighting in that particular conflict.

"We gather together to give thanks to all those who paid the ultimate sacrifice."

A memorial for HMS Sheffield and her crew was dedicated at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire yesterday.

The HMS Sheffield Association Committee commissioned the memorial to celebrate the service of those who served in the three ships (Cruiser, Destroyer and Frigate) that bore the name of HMS Sheffield.

It is also intended that the memorial acts as a place of remembrance for the members of the Ship’s Company lost in action in 1982.