Falklands 40: New TV drama being created by former Welsh Guard
Cartoonist Will Kevans is working on a tribute which will tell the stories of those involved in the conflict.
Last updated 2nd Apr 2022
It follows on from his book 'My Life In Pieces, The Falklands War. Will was just 19 years old when he set sail on the QE2 for the Falkland Islands in 1982. He told us: "It's my Welsh guardsman's view of what it was like to fight in the Falklands, in a modern war. So, it's really kind of a worm's eye view and it's quite an irreverent look at it. You got all the banter in there, all the lads, you know, they're taking the Mickey and all the stuff that goes on in the army. But also, there's a darker side of it." For the TV drama they are going to use young actors: "It's quite an interesting idea working with a bunch of teenage lads, like we were back in the day or preparing to go to war in the Falklands and how it affected them."
The Falklands War lasted 10 weeks until a ceasefire was declared on June 14 1982. 255 British soldiers and 3 islanders lost their lives.
Recalling the first time he set eyes on the Falklands he says: "It was like the Brecon Beacons on a winter, stormy day, freezing cold. You're terrified. You know, you've got to go and fight. Face to face with people and the bombs and bullets are flying. You really are quite terrified. But you must overcome that fear. You must somehow get over it. Obviously, you have got the bravado when you're a teenager, you are sort of trying to 'out hard' each other. That's just the way you do it and you just go into it contrary to your better instincts. You want to run quickly in the opposite direction, but you're actually marching into it. I think to a certain extent, you grow up very quickly because you actually get to a situation where you're actually able to write yourself off. You have to be philosophical about it. Say well, if I'm going to die, I'm going to die. And this is where I'm going to die. This is it actually what I signed up for, now here I am, I've got to get on with the job."
Falklands 40
Left to right Lance Sergeant Tony Willoughby, Lance Corporal John Davies 77, Guardsman Will Kevans, Mike Williams 40 and Nigel O'Keefe.
Five years ago, Will returned to the islands for the 35th anniversary of the conflict. It was sunny, the weather was fine. They were welcomed like heroes with locals putting them up in their homes during their say. Will says: "The Falklands are almost stuck in the 1950s because they're hugely patriotic. Union Jacks are everywhere and it's a uniquely British island. You get the feeling that it’s really quite a little slice of The Darling Buds of May but in the Brecon Beacons, in the sunshine, you know, that is incredible. I mean that the people are fantastic."
The 40th anniversary of the Falklands will be marked with a series of events across the UK including a service at the National Arboretum. Will intends to travel from France to Wrexham in June to reunited with is former colleagues. He told us: " I believe one of our officers is organizing a charity walk around Anglesey, which I'm going to take part in. We will also try and do a climb up Mont Blanc with a charity called AC2R, which is a climb to recovery, special forces charity group. They use climbing and expeditions to rehabilitate veterans who have either lost limbs or they have psychological issues through their trauma. I think about eight of us are planning to go and commemorate the guys that we lost."
Will is also hoping to do a climbing expedition with the soldiers he fought against. Some of them were only fourteen years old at the time. He's planning to do that next year. He's very interested in developing both sides of the story and wants to see what it was like going up against the British. He was part of the team tasked with taking the last five hundred Argentinian prisoners back home after the conflict - they were dropped off in Puerto Madryn in Patagonia, Chubut Province. He told us some of them were Welsh and that they spoke to each other in Welsh. "We had more of a connectivity with the people that we had as prisoners than with the upper echelons - not so much those in the British Army - but those dealing with the political situation. You find yourselves fighting with people that historically you probably have more in common with."
Will is also appealing for help in finding out more about a story which he was told by his friend Mike Williams who is from North Wales. It happened on the car deck of the boat taking prisoners back home. "Mike's into rock music. He likes Queen, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. He was having a conversation with one of the Argentinian. It turned out they were both into Freddie Mercury, Queen and all that kind of stuff. And they started singing. 'We Will Rock You'. And it just went mental in the car deck. Everybody was saying it. 'We will… We Will.. Rock You'.. and the whole deck erupted. I just thought that was fascinating. So, I was quite intrigued to find out if there's anybody who recollects, that moment when that happened. There's got to be somebody that remembers that."