Falklands War: You Really Wanted to Do Your Bit

Land, Sea & Air - Stories from the Armed Forces

“I was in a pub in Aldershot…a couple of the guys came in with the paper…and the general feeling was that we needed to get over there…and start kicking some arse.” This is the story of 2 Para, told through the eyes of Gary Steele, who Served in the battalion during The Falklands War.

“We needed to do something, and Goose Green was the something that we did. We set off at night, we left rucksacks behind, everyone was just loaded-up with as much ammunition as they could take…”

Amidst the danger, British humour and stoicism played its part, “It’s a funny thing, being mortared…initially it’s just sheer terror…you’re lying face-down…you can hear shrapnel flying over you, you can hear the explosion; but after a minute or two, it gets a bit boring ‘cos there’s not really a lot you can do…so I got my little stove out, brewed-up some hot water, had a coffee, while we were being mortared.”

The battle was brutal, “…The CO was dead, The Adjutant was dead…some of the best soldiers in the battalion had been killed. There were loads of people wounded. It was a pretty shocking situation…you really wanted to do your bit…you really wanted to get stuck-in and help” and that’s exactly what 2 Para did.

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