Mountain battle was 'like something from the First World War'

AS WE MARK THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FALKLANDS CONFLICT, ONE FORMER PRIVATE DESCRIBES THE EXPERIENCE AND THE ENDURING AFFECT IT HAS HAD ON HIS LIFE

TREVOR Bradshaw remembers being sent into the darkness of battle with Argentinian troops in an operation that felt like something from the First World War.

He was aged 21 and just three months into his service with the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment when war broke out in the Falklands.

The private, from Exmouth in Devon, now aged 61, was among those sent in to fight the Argentinians on the ground in the Falklands, including the horrific battle of Mount Longdon.

While taking cover during that battle, Trevor lost his good friend and comrade, Tim Jenkins. Years later, when he returned to the islands, he marked the place where Tim had been killed with a small plaque and rocks to spell his name and regiment.

Trevor said: “It's very important to remember the ordinary young men who were killed serving their country. I've tried to live my life for some of those lads who never got the chance."

Trevor sailed to the Falklands on the SS Canberra and remembers the crowds waving goodbye.

He said: “It was just getting dark when we set sail and there was a long promenade of hundreds and hundreds of cars all facing their headlights to the sea. They were flashing their headlights and beeping their horns. It was an unforgettable send-off, an amazing experience. But then everyone had a lump in their throat as we sailed off into the darkness. No one said very much, and everyone just went off quietly to their rooms.”

Trevor's battalion arrived Ascension Island - midway between Britain and the Falklands - on April on 20. They were sailing to the Falklands on May 19, when they had to be transferred to HMS Intrepid.