Falklands revisited

[Beancountercymru]

Tonight on Channel 4Falklands War: The Untold Story
”On the 40th anniversary of the conflict, senior commanders and ground troops reveal how a series of mistakes nearly cost Britain its hard-won victory over Argentina in the South Atlantic”

[NutLoose]

Set to record

[Mogwi]

Sounds positive!

Mog

[Beancountercymru]

Or will it be hatchet job?


”Documentary examining the Falklands conflict 40 years on. The head of the SAS in the Falklands, Sir Michael Rose, speaks publicly for the first time about the war, and how the British task force came close to defeat. Plus, ground troops and senior commanders, many for the first time, reveal how an unexpected change in the plan for the land campaign nearly cost Britain the war, and led to unnecessary loss of life at the iconic Battle of Goose Green, and in the sinking of the Sir Galahad”

[pr00ne]

So, they are going to "reveal" things that were widely discussed at the time and immediately after, and have been covered ad nauseam ever since in book, magazine, TV and radio...

Untold? I think not!

[MPN11]

Suggest double-check recorder timings, as BST may have come as a surprise to some broadcasters. I believe it starts at 2100.

[Asturias56]

Guess who they'll interview.................................

he won the war single handed - now that's "untold"

[Old-Duffer]

My morning newspaper tells two different times just two pages apart and states Michael Rose commanded 3 Commando Brigade - I bet Julian Thompson will not like that!
I'm sure Sharky will get a mention and Ewen S-T will be in the Daily Telegraph tomorrow or Tuesday. I don't begrudge either of them a place in the story and both made a significant contribution for which we ought to be grateful

Old Duffer

[Herod]

Don't forget Chinook Bravo November, now sitting safely at Cosford.

[Saintsman]

I remember afterwards, people telling their stories about how they got on and all the 'obstacles' they had to overcome to get the job done.

However, nobody seemed to explain what the 'obstacles' were - they were just 'obstacles', so I wonder how many real lessons were learnt afterwards?

Not a lot of use telling us 40 years later, though I will be recording it.

[Kiltrash]

On my ' planner ' it says First aired 20/03/02
Still worth recording ..

[Navaleye]

I see the let's blame Tony Wilson for everything brigade are out in force

[NutLoose]

I didn't see anything new in it..

[Navaleye]

Likewise. The best read at the moment is the 809 Sqn book. I was a fit, energetic 19 year old then, not so much anymore.

[Old-Duffer]

Proved wrong - no Sharkey, perhaps E S-T will prove me right in tomorrow's DT!

I was posted to the Falklands in early 1966 from Tern Hill but the posting was cancelled and I received another posting to Cyprus (3 years at Nicosia). This was also cancelled and I ended up in Borneo. It was only when I was dined out from Tern Hill, that I found the posting to the 'RNZAF Survey Team' on the Falklands, was an elaborate hoax by a wing commander who I had thought had no sense of humour!

Old Duffer

[melmothtw]

I didn't see anything new in it..

I agree. I'm not quite sure what the premise of the programme was - it seemed to be a series of separate and largely unrelated personal experiences of the conflict cobbled together to try and fit a narrative of 'how we nearly lost the war'. These individual testimonies were interesting enough on their own, and quite poignant in the case of the chap from the Welsh Guards remembering his old rugby team mates, but struggled at times to make the connections (how did the Para private on Mount Longdon relate to the RAF Wing Commander in Chile, for example). Also, they had a couple of Argentine veterans on camera and gave them about 30 seconds of air time to say not very much.I suspect there will be many more of these documentaries over the coming weeks, looking to put a fresh spin on what really is an already well known story.