It all began 36 years ago on Friday the 2nd of April 1982. Argentina invaded one of the British colonies - the Falklands Islands. On the 5th of April, the British government dispatched a naval task force to engage the Argentine Navy and Air Force before making an amphibious assault on the islands. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrendering on 14 June 1982, returning the islands to British control.

Former Paratrooper, Stuart Cardy, was one of 26 000 army personnel sent to fight in 1982. He was also one of the thousands of victorious soldiers that returned from the Falklands conflict. But for 255 soldiers, the remote islands remained their last destination.

I had the great pleasure to sit down with Stuart Cardy and talk about his time in Falkland Islands and to honour the memory of our fallen heroes during the 10-week war. He did not keep a diary of his experiences but he recalls every single day with vivid details of the events.

Stuart Cardy first became part of the Army’s airborne infantry as a Paratrooper in the British Army at the age of 16. He was trained to deploy on the frontline or behind enemy lines by parachute, helicopter or land. Little did he know that 4 years later he would travel on the board the MV Norland, a roll-on/roll-off North Sea passenger ferry commandeered to transport 900 paratroopers from Portsmouth to the South Atlantic archipelago - Falklands Islands.

What were your memories of the first day?

I was part of the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, also known as 2 PARA. It was three-week voyage of 8 000 miles and despite the fact most of us tried to behave brave, fear froze some faces. We were ashore on Sussex Mountain by 22 May, securing the southern part of the 3 Commando Brigade bridge-head. It was the middle of winter, -5 degrees and snowing almost every day in the Falklands. You couldn’t see your hands in front of your face, the weather was terrible. We were completely wet from head to toe and carrying our own body weight and more on our backs- average 125 kg.

When was your first battle?

On 28 May, 2 PARA marched 50 miles to get to the battle field, we had no air cover due to the bad weather conditions. To get there we had to run through a mine field. We attacked the Argentinean strategic reserve on the Darwin Hill/Goose Green Peninsular. We were heavily outnumbered 7-8-1 and it was quite daunting, only 450 of us attacked the 1500 Argentinian soldiers. We had argentines jet aircraft dropping bombs on us, it was ‘interesting.’ The Argentinians were close to home and it was easy for them looking at logistics. At Goose Green we managed to rescue 120 civilians who were being held hostage- only one civilian was killed in the whole battle. We freed them and made sure they were okay.

How many battles were you involved in?

4 major battles, after our emphatic victory at Goose Green we marched half way across the island to tie another battle at Wireless Ridge. Between these two places there was a place called Bluff’s Cove where 2 of our ships were bombed and we helped to get casualties off the boat. Wireless Ridge was one of seven strategic hills within five miles of Stanley that had to be taken over in order for the Island's capital to be approached. We wanted to seem really brutal and violent. When the enemy see you running towards their guns and you keep running - they run. They don’t understand that you aren’t scared. They weren’t highly motivated and highly trained – they were forced to be there; it wasn’t their country. Our 26-hour battle was successful, and the entire Argentine force on the Islands ran and surrendered later that day.

Were you scared? How did you overcome the fear of death?

Initially, yes. The thought of going into battle was frightening, but once you started it was okay. The fear of death is the strongest emotion. This fear is always with you but the essence of the fear is to help the person survive, because it makes you more careful.

Did you have anyone close to you killed? 

Yes - more than one person. All the people that died, I knew them all very well. During the Goose Green Peninsular battle 18 of our men died. This bloody battle cost us our Commanding Officer Lt Col Herbert Jones’ life too. Other than that, 64 were injured.

Did you have the symptoms of post-traumatic stress after what you have witnessed?

The whole issue of post-traumatic stress was not known about back then. I was lucky that our journey back home was long enough to allow me to talk about it and get over it. We spoke about what happened to us and how we managed to get through it as a team.

If you don’t talk it out, it will go deep and come out some other time. The people who had major issues with post-traumatic stress afterwards were the ones who didn’t speak to anyone about their experiences of the war we just fought in. 

How would you describe your overall experience in the Falklands?

I have no regrets about the Falkland’s war. I think it was a great achievement - I’m very proud of it. I enjoy being a soldier. The war is very brutal and I think that killing is regrettable. Some of the people fighting for Argentina weren’t regular soldiers but when you’re been shot at you must shoot back.

Do you still meet up with your fellow paras?

All of us from the parachute battalions who are still alive, meet up at least twice a year.

Have returned to the Falklands ever since?

I went back last December. It was the first time I had gone back since 36 years ago – the place looks a lot bigger now because of the sunshine. When I was first leaving, 36 years ago, people were saying to me ‘look at all the penguins and the beautiful wildlife.’ I never saw one penguin when I was there, or any wildlife apart from sheep. This time, fortunately, I managed to see a lot of penguins. I visited the battle field and I found my first trench that I dug all those years ago only 10km from where we landed. This brought back all my memories of the events back then. We are a brotherhood and I paid tribute to everyone who fought and died.  

Raya Uzunova- Bancroft's School