Veterans remember ship’s sinking
Parade and memorial service marks the 40th anniversary of ‘Shiny Sheff’ tragedy during Falklands War
PROUDLY WEARING the green, white and blue Falklands scarf, veterans of the conflict marched in Sheffield to mark the 40th anniversary this Wednesday of the sinking of the “Shiny Sheff ” HMS Sheffield.
Around 70 veterans from the destroyer, the first Royal Navy vessel sunk in action since the Second World War, joined a parade to the city’s cathedral, where a memorial service was held.
The “Shiny Sheff ” – the nickname for all three ships which have borne the HMS
Sheffield name – was hit midships by an Exocet missile on May 4, 1982 and sank while under tow six days later. Of the 281 crew members, 20 died while another 26 were injured.
Chairman of the HMS Sheffield Association John Galway said the widows of some of those who had died were expected to attend, along with some veterans who had never been to such an event, but wanted to mark the 40th anniversary. Veterans from the Parachute Regiment, and also those who served on HMS Hermes and HMS Arrow – which came to HMS Sheffield’s aid – and the cruise liner Canberra, which was requisitioned as a troop ship would also attend.
There was also due to be a large turnout from South Yorkshire’s Sea Cadets.
Mr Galway, who served onboard as an Able Seaman (Radar), was on watch when the ship was hit, and was blown into the air, slicing his scalp open in the process.“It doesn’t seem like 40 years ago,” he said. “I can’t remember any noise, all
I remember is flying through the air and thick, black smoke because of the cabling that caught fire. I was evacuated fairly quickly.”
The crew hadn’t expected to go to war and were heading back to Portsmouth after a six-month tour in the Gulf. Mr Galway narrowly escaped with his life as he had been about to go to the galley and get a coffee, but got called back: “A lot of the chefs died because the missile went through the galley.” He said and he sad would – remembering feel proud – those who died. However he added: “I tend not to dwell on it, as far as I’m concerned it happened, yes, I survived and it’s case of you have to move on with your Meanwhile life.” a new “Shiny Sheff ” memorial honouring all those who served on the three ships bearing HMS Sheffield’s name is due to be unveiled on Wednesday at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Representing a warship cutting through a dull grey sea at speed, it has been made in stainless steel by Sheffield firms to a design by Beverley-based sculptor Peter Naylor. Penny Salt, the widow of Captain Sam Salt, the destroyer’s commanding officer, will anoint the memorial with a bottle of seawater taken from the South Atlantic by a Royal Naval warship.
HMS Sheffield Association said it was “extremely proud that their memorial was made of stainless steel by skilled craftsmen in the city of Sheffield”.
All I remember is flying through the air and thick, black smoke.
John Galway, chairman of the HMS Sheffield Association.
THE DIGNIFIED and heartfelt tributes paid yesterday to HMS Sheffield, sunk during the Falklands War 40 years ago, will have touched the hearts of many.
The commemorations in Sheffield of the first British warship sunk in combat since the Second World War were not only a tribute to the 20 crew who were killed and the 26 injured when she was struck by an Exocet missile on May 4 1982.
They also remembered all the victims of a vicious conflict fought 8,000 miles from Britain.
The unveiling of a memorial to HMS Sheffield on Wednesday at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, will undoubtedly be another moment of solemn remembrance.
Ten days afterwards, the Arboretum will host the official national memorial service for the Falklands
War, organised by the Royal British Legion.
Forty years on, the conflict in the South Atlantic resonates powerfully for our own times, and not only because of the bravery and sacrifice of those fighting on land, sea and air, who must never be forgotten.
Let us not forget that the war was about standing up to aggression, refusing to accept the illegal seizure of territory and the denial of a population’s democratic right to live in freedom and elect a government of its own choosing.
Today, the people of Ukraine are fighting against an aggressor for exactly those same freedoms, willed on and aided by countries who value democracy, not least Britain.
As we remember those who died on HMS Sheffield and all those who served in the Falklands, we think of Ukraine too.