Radio Gram sent 21 June 1982

The words my parents had been waiting for sent a week after the fighting was over

Feeling Fine, I'm in one piece. Hope to see you soon, give my love to all the family, Love Steve

Letter written 21 May 1982

Dear Mum, Dad and Dave

Choppers came in today and yesterday to ferry essential supplies such as beer, soft drinks, chocolate and mail so I received both your letters, it was great hearing from you. I wrote to both of you yesterday so I haven't got a lot to say.

We aren't staying on the Ascension Islands, as a matter of fact all we are doiing is going around it in circles taking on supplies. Tonight we go South but you probably know about this from the news anyway. When we join the Task Force we will probably vacate the QE2 and board naval vessels to minimise the chances of all of 5 brigade being blown out of the water. As a result things will probably be much safer.

Rumours are rife but it is probable the QE2 will become a hospital ship so I wouldn't particularly wish to come back on board as a passenger. 5 brigade has 2 options. We are primamrily a reserve force to back up the paras and marines but there again we may be required to act indepently. Again rumour has it that there is another brigade under going traininbg and we hope that they will form a garrison.

As it stands we stand little chance of kicking the Argies off the islands through purely military operations in the forseeable future. We need to outnumber the enemy 3 to 1 to gain a certain victory. We are led to believe that they outnumber us by 2 to 1. However that isn't all that bad because most of the troops are new recruits from February. They use the same infantry weapons that we do so fully appreciate their ability in firepower. Saying that there weapons may be unusable due to the weather and the inexperienced training of the troops.

We expect to encounter pretty bad weather as we go further south. The weather itself is about the same as a Scottish winter, however saying that the wind is constantly blowing and can be a serious threat. The islands are gradually sinking into sea so the large majority of the islands are marshy and the atmosphere is very damp. Cover from the elements will be few and far between as there are only 2 clumps of trees in the netire islands.

I can't remember if I told you my job but in case I haven't I am now with company stores. Our job in life will be to ferry supplies such as food, water and ammunition up to the ftont line. We will probably be engaged in guarding and supply dumps and other instalations. My job as a pay clerk is now down to about 2 to 3 hours a week so it be hard graft. We have no idea when we will be back to England but as far as I am concerned the sooner the better

Morale is high though the novelty of going to war has to the large majority now worn off. I have never seen a body of men more dedicated to deal a crushing defeat to the Argies.

I am getting very fit as we do a hours rigorous training every day. This normally entails everyone running around the QE2 from Brigadier downwards. I'm getting a nice tan which puts a shame on my other ones and that is only from 1 hours exposure a day to the sun.

I think of you back in England and it is only now that I realise what a wonderful existence we live. As I think ahead to the conditions we will most probably have to endure I would be quite happy to say "here, keep the bloody islands". However I don't feel that way and never will.

Lots of love
Steven

Letter written 19 May 1982

Dear Mum, Dad and Dave

This letter will probably reach you either before, after or at the same time as my other one. The other one is in an envelope which has a stamp on it.

We are now 8 days from Southampton and for obvious security reasons I can't say where we are exactly although it doesn't make much difference. However we stopped for a few hours at Freetown on the west coast of Africa before we crossed the equator.

Training has been very intense with helicopter drills, lifeboat training as well as fitness training. The fitness training can be pretty bad at times. We ran around the deck of the QE21 8 times followed by 1/2 hous of press ups etc and the temperature was 77. The weather is getting hotter all the time and is now about 85.

As far as I go the worst I have encountered so far is the stuffy conditions as well as the weather. The conditions are cramped but they are apparently going to get worse, the food started off great but gradually they are making the food more basic. They are eventually making conditions more primitive for obvious reasons as you can't transfer troops from luxury to living in the field.

We're getting many lectures on many interesting topics but again we can't mention them because they are all classified subjects. Things could very well get sticky if we invade and they resist. The biggest question in everyones mind is not where we land or when or how or if, but will the Argies resist. I know I wouldn't.

Well there is plenty more to write about but I'm really very tired and weary from the heat. I write again very soon or as soon as possible.

I love you all, I'll be thinking of you when we invade

Steven

Letter written 12 May 1982

One of the many advantages of having all my documents in one place is that I now have access to the letters I wrote to my family during the campaign. Unknown to myself my mother kept these letters safe and returned them to me a couple of years ago.

They make for some interesting reading and give me an insight to my thoughts at the time.

This is the first one I wrote while on board the QE2

Dear Mum, Dad and Dave

Well everyone I write to you my first letter for almost 2 years aboard the QE2. After an early start (3.00am) we finally boarded the QE2 at about 7.30am, watched by a small crowd of relatives and a huge hoard of photographers and film crews. I have got a cabin which built for 2 people, however they have crammed 3 of us in here. The QE2 has changed from an obvious luxury liner into a troop ship for some 3,000 troops. Gone have the display cabinets and fixtures from the corridors and main meeting places. Cardboard and mats cover the floors, gone have the plush lounges to be replaced by rows and rows of camp beds. She has been stripped down to what a cross channel ferry looks like. However there are still many good things. The food is fantasti. Its cooked by the crew, not army chefs, and as a result we get very well fed. We are actually allowed galklons of milk to drink and we get GRAPEFRUIT!! for breakfast. Waiters clear up and keep the dining rooms clean each meal time, which can't be easy when there are 3,000 troops on board. Everywhere you go there are soldiers, machine guns, rifles, sub-machine guns, anti-tank weapons, mortars, anti-aircraft weapons and piles and piles of stores which spill out onto the decks in all directions. Along with the Welsh Guards and Gurkhas there are artillery, rapier anti-aircraft crews and personnel from every corps and support arms in the army.

The crew are fantastic, they are cheery, helpful and quite willing to engage in conversation. I pity them for they must be used to quite dosile, rich and well mannered passengers. Now they have to cope with us!!

So far we have done nothing but sit around and explore the ship. Its huge with a swimming pool, a laundarette, cinema and shops. One funny thing I heard was one of the crew commenting on that all the army exists on is beer and chocolate which makes up a vast amount of the stock. Prices are very cheap, everything is at cost price and its suprising how much we were over charged in the shops on shore.

Morale is very high and everyone is having a great time writing messages on sheets and hanging them over the sides. Boredom is the only fatal thing that we have to watch out for. As I have previously mentioned there is virtually no extra space to do weapon training and exercide but that doesn't really concern me.

Well that's all I have got to offer as news at my end. There are no problems at my end except I havent got any stamps so could you send me 2 or 3 please? I will re-imburse you of course. As far as the bank is concerned forget what I said. I'll draw money over the table which will make my bank paymenst very small.

Well lots of love to all the family. Write as sonn as possible and hopefully I'll get back in 2 weeks time

Steve

Updated my library

For the first time ever all my library of books on the Falklands are in the same country so added them all to the list.

British Library

Found a wonderful resource today that will help me track down all known publications in English on the Falklands War. The British Library have catalogs of their entire collection so it came as no surprise to see that they have well over 250 published books on the war. Of course a number of them are duplicates as they have gone through a number of revisions but still, it makes an interesting read.

Time to look up some of the missing titles and add to my collection.

26th Anniversary has been and gone, and where the hell was I??

Well the 26th anniversary of Tumbledown and been and gone and I had had so much planned that I ended up doing nothing, not even updating my blog, which is a shame as a lot has happened the last 3 months.

My main plan was to have been to attend one of the numerous reunion dinners that were taking place across the country and in particular I was all setup to attend a SAMA82 dinner in Aberdeen. Everything was going according to plan such as organising flights, getting a cheap ticket and speaking with Theresa Davies and arranging to stay with her. Then work reared its ugly head and a series of meetings with an important customer meant it all had to be cancelled :(

I wouldn't say I lost heart but June turned out to be a very busy month and then July is vacation month so a big chunk of that was taken up going away on holiday. Then it was back to work and again a series of busy demands including a trip to Norway and suddenly it was August.

More vacation sees me back in the UK and this time a whirlwind series of visits to relatives and seeing friends who I havent seen for a year. Best part of this though is that I am now reunited with my complete library and have had a chance to acquire some more books over in Hay-On-Wye which is close to where I live in Hereford.

So please accept my apologies but normal service is being resumed