Community in mourning
Today’s headlines were still understandably centred on the terrible loss of life onboard HMS Sheffield in the Falklands.
In the hush of mourning, Hants grieves for Sheffield victims
The hush of mourning lay over homes in the Portsmouth area today as families and friends faced the loss of 16 men from the South in the HMS Sheffield tragedy.
Badly hit was the village of Stubbington, which lost four men.
Four more from Gosport, two from Portchester and one each from Portsmouth, Havant, Purbrook, Lee-onSolent, the Isle of Wight, and Grayshott are also on the tragic list.
At Stubbington, the grief is for Lt-Cmdr. John Woodhead, 40, a weapons engineering officer, Petty Officer Cook Robert Fagan, 34, Acting Chief Weapons Engineering Mechanic Michael Till, 35, and Leading Cook Adrian Wellstead, 26.
Leading Cook Wellstead’s widow, Karen, is expecting a baby in a few weeks. The couple recently moved to Stubbington from Portsmouth.
The most seriously ill of the 24 Sheffield crewmen injured in the missile attack is Chief Mechanician John Strange, 38, from Gosport.
The confirmed casualty figures were given by the Ministry of Defence last night. The 242 survivors uninjured have been transferred to other ships in the task force.
Sheffield was carrying 286 men when she was hit, 16 more than her normal complement.
Task force wives’ groups were closing ranks to comfort the bereaved families. Said one wife: ‘All we can do in these situations is to stand by and help one another when we can.’