‘All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing’
My good friend at school left at the same time as me, he went into the navy I went in to a print apprenticeship. He lost his very young life in the Falklands defending the right of this country. I recently went to the National Memorial Arboretum found his name and paid my respects.
We were a rubbish class academically at our school but we were all good friends and had lots of fun, Iain was always at the centre of it
RIP Iain. I for one will not forget you and what you did for this country.
From the local paper....
A WIDOW whose husband was killed in the Falklands war just a week after they married will attend a special memorial service to mark the 30-year anniversary of the start of the conflict.
Margaret Allen said she was left "utterly devastated" when her husband Iain Boldy was killed while serving on HMS Argonaut on May 21, 1982.
The couple had only been married a week and Mrs Allen said she had spent years trying to cope with her sudden loss.
The 53-year-old said: "We met two years before he went off to the Falklands and married a week before.
"He knew what was required of him and expected from him in his job.
"But it utterly devastated me. It left me with post traumatic stress disorder and I there are things before and after that I just can't remember any more."
Mr Boldy, of Darley Abbey, was only 20 when his ship was bombed by Argentine forces. He was one of 258 Britons killed in the conflict.
Today, Mrs Allen, of Brailsford, is set to attend a candlelit vigil at the National Memorial Arboretum.
She will join other veterans, relatives and widows of soldiers who died in the war. During a service of remembrance, a single candle will be lit in the Arboretum's Millennium Chapel and it will be left alight for 74 days – the length of the conflict.
A new memorial will then be unveiled at the Alrewas site in May.
Mrs Allen said she would be meeting Major John Phillips, a former Royal Engineer who defused one of the two bombs which struck the ship her husband had been on.
She said: "Two bombs hit the ship Iain was on.
One struck him and the other went into the boiler room.
"It was unexploded and Major Phillips defused it. I have never met him and it will be emotional but I want to thank him for what he did.
"There is a great comfort in being with other people who know what it is like to lose someone in a conflict. I feel it will be a very positive day."
She said she now worked with the National Memorial Arboretum and the charity Combat Stress to help others like her.
She said: "I think it is vital for society to remember past conflicts. I think the amount of support available to veterans and families of soldiers injured or killed in conflict has improved but we can still do more."
Margaret Allen said she was left "utterly devastated" when her husband Iain Boldy was killed while serving on HMS Argonaut on May 21, 1982.
The couple had only been married a week and Mrs Allen said she had spent years trying to cope with her sudden loss.
The 53-year-old said: "We met two years before he went off to the Falklands and married a week before.
"He knew what was required of him and expected from him in his job.
"But it utterly devastated me. It left me with post traumatic stress disorder and I there are things before and after that I just can't remember any more."
Mr Boldy, of Darley Abbey, was only 20 when his ship was bombed by Argentine forces. He was one of 258 Britons killed in the conflict.
Today, Mrs Allen, of Brailsford, is set to attend a candlelit vigil at the National Memorial Arboretum.
She will join other veterans, relatives and widows of soldiers who died in the war. During a service of remembrance, a single candle will be lit in the Arboretum's Millennium Chapel and it will be left alight for 74 days – the length of the conflict.
A new memorial will then be unveiled at the Alrewas site in May.
Mrs Allen said she would be meeting Major John Phillips, a former Royal Engineer who defused one of the two bombs which struck the ship her husband had been on.
She said: "Two bombs hit the ship Iain was on.
One struck him and the other went into the boiler room.
"It was unexploded and Major Phillips defused it. I have never met him and it will be emotional but I want to thank him for what he did.
"There is a great comfort in being with other people who know what it is like to lose someone in a conflict. I feel it will be a very positive day."
She said she now worked with the National Memorial Arboretum and the charity Combat Stress to help others like her.
She said: "I think it is vital for society to remember past conflicts. I think the amount of support available to veterans and families of soldiers injured or killed in conflict has improved but we can still do more."
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3 comments:
We have just seen his widow being interviewed on ITV today, at the National Memorial in Stafford.
I'll see if I can catch the news. We met her in Debehams in Derby just before they got married. He was talking about leaving the Navy and going to live in Australia with his brother, sad
Nev
It still brings me near to tears whenever I recollect my time in San Carlos... I never had to fire a shot in anger, nor was I fired at, mainly due to the now decommissioned Harrier and it's combat ability....
My friend Ian and I, who both served on the islands in '82, hope to go back next year to visit the war graves and see the place now it is prospering and at peace....
My squadron was the one you may have seen picking up survivors and hovering low over the liferafts at Bluff Cove when the enemy bombed the Galahad and Tristram.....
Would I go again? Yes... unlike some I worked with, I still feel a strong sense of duty regarding my time in the service.
No doubt your friend had the same sense of duty and died serving his country. I salute him...
All give some, but some give all.... freedom is not free.
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