Falklands veteran recalls the day his life changed forever

Thirty-five years ago on June 8, the Sir Galahad was bombed during the Falkands War.

The ship was attacked by three Argentine Skyhawks as it was preparing to unload soldiers in Port Pleasant, off Fitzroy settlement.

Forty-eight men died.

Among the survivors that day was Simon Weston, from Nelson. The attack left the then 20-year-old with 46% burns to his body.

Speaking at a Caerphilly Business Forum event last month, the former Welsh Guard recalled the lead-up to the attack.

He said: “We got blown up because people got it wrong. There were poor decisions made, but I don’t complain about that.

“They have admitted in their own books that they made it up as they went along because they didn’t have the experience of amphibious assault warfare.

“These guys took a risk with our lives and got it wrong.”

He continued: “They put us on board the Sir Galahad, which had been hit two days before by a 500lbs bomb, which didn’t detonate.

“It had come through into the toilets and I went into them as they were welding up the hole in the side of the ship.
“That delayed us setting sail, so we were eight hours late.

“The powers that be said you’ve got to press on.”

Mr Weston said skies were clear and that the ship was there for too long – leaving it vulnerable to attack.

He said: “Telling people to press on when there has been a problem, only causes more problems.”

Despite being told he was “on the scrapheap” at 25 by his Resettlement Major, Mr Weston is now a successful motivational speaker and was awarded a CBE in 2016 for his charitable work.

Speaking earlier this year to the Radio Times, Mr Weston revealed that he is still friends with Carlos Cachon – the pilot of the plane that bombed his ship.

He told the magazine: “I have no hate for the pilot who bombed us.

“I’ve met him since and we remain very good friends. We shared a split-second in time. Our countries were at war. Having spoken to him, he didn’t know there were as many people on the ship as there were.

“Unlike terrorists, this guy wore his country’s uniform and he was very good at his job – he should have been, the RAF trained him.”