Courage in the face of ADVERSITY

At the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, we talk to one of just 40 women who served in it

- MICHELLE HATHER

Families in the Falklands will this month remember the war that liberated them from a foreign army 40 years ago.

The islanders will no doubt give thanks to the task force that fought for their freedom, including a remarkable group of women – the only military females to work in the combat zone.

Nicci Pugh was a trauma operating theatre sister with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Navy Nursing Service, on board Her Majesty’s Hospital Ship Uganda. She and her colleagues called themselves ‘The Fearless 40’, braving Argentine enemy aircraft, rough seas and bitter temperatures to treat the casualties of war.

‘There were many difficulties – the weather, the ship’s motion – and we were so remote and missed our families,’ says Nicci, now in her early 70s and living Devon. ‘But we were there to help the most seriously injured and a strong bond built between us.’

The conflict began on 2 April 1982, after Argentinian soldiers invaded the British Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. The then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dispatched a task force to recover the territory 8,000 miles away, sparking a 74-day war that would cost many lives on both sides.

Nicci was serving in The Royal Naval Hospital in Gosport, Hampshire, at the time. She and 39 other specialist nurses were selected to serve on the SS Uganda, a P&O educational cruise ship requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence as a hospital vessel.