You think you know someone!

[Lord Burley]

There has been a fella coming in to my place of work for the last 6 years.A quiet unasuming man.Whos only really distinctive feature is his strong liverpudlian accent.

 

He has always taken an interest when i have been doing the shows,and always asked about the vehicles.Be it the Jeep LR or Ferret.At some point.I have taken them all to work.

 

Anyway.It was a quiet week last week,and whilst loading his pallet on to the back of his van,i decided to have a chat with him.The general conversation started with me asking whereabouts in Liverpool he was from,as i had spent a bit of time up there myself the last couple of years.I then asked him where he was living now.Leatherhead he says..."Well in actual fact the wifes from leatherhead"."We decided to move back there after i left the navy"

 

Now with some interest i pursued him on his career in the navy.Turns out he served 14 years,and in that time, served during the Falklands war and GW1.

 

L.B. What ship did you serve on during the Falklands?

 

Steve. I served on H.M.S Alacrity.We were very lucky during the war.Both ships that replaced us on patrol were hit by bombs and later sunk.H.M.S Ardent.And H.M.S Antelope.

 

L.B.: F*** me.You were lucky.Any other close shaves?

 

Steve: .There was this time when we were sailing up the Falkland sound.On the left ,through binos we could clearly see the Argentinians dug in postion on the hill sides.I was manning a GPMG on a side rail at the time.But it was a little to far out of range to have any effect.We couldnt open up with the main gun either,as we were two shots away from a barrel change.And in order to do a change,we had to sail outside a safety zone.Deemed safe from enemy aircraft to affect the change.This had to be done with participation with another ship that had to replace us,while we did the barrel change.Just as we approached a small island,we had a missile warning.(this was not long after the Sheffield had been sunk)Just has we rounded the island a exocet went straight over the top and missed us.the radar track on us was lost as we rounded the island.

 

L.B.: What was your worst experiance?

 

Steve.: The most gutting experiance we had was,when we were escorting the Atlantic Conveyor.We again were painted by an exocet,and in order to dodge the incoming missile,we launched chaff.The falling chaff fell aginst the backdrop of the bigger conveyor,presenting an unmissable target.The missile punched a hole in the side,starting a series of explosions and fires.When the order came to abandon ship,it was found that some of the lines launching the life rafts were too short.And they were dropping about 15ft in to the water.Anyone falling out,only had 3 minutes survival time in the water.

 

L.B. I remember the Captain Ian North.He looked like Captain Birdseye. Did he die in the water?.

 

Steve.:No he went down with the ship.As far as i under stand he stayed behind to make sure everyone got off.We pulled alongside to try and control the fire.But the superstructure was that hot that all our hoses were doing was punching holes in the side of the ship.The order came through sometime later,that all was lost,and to let it burn.A lot of equipment was lost on that ship including the Chinooks,CVRT,s for the blues and royals,weapons,105 guns and other supplies.

 

L.B.: What about the stories of Prince Andrew being used as a decoy for the exocets?.

 

Steve.: Decoy my arse. He was a glorified postman flying mail between ships.

 

Our conversation ended there,before we even got to the Gulf War,as by then i had another lorry to load up.Last night he brought his campaign medal in and some pics from the Falklands.I will ask him again next week about his time in the Gulf.

 

it just goes to show.That here is someone i have known for 6 years,and never knew he had a interesting past.

[Rick W]

Amazing...talking to people just goes to show what stories they have. Luckily he was OK to talk about them, many dont.

[Lord Burley]

Now wheer did i hear that old quote from?"It pays to talk"