Dear Diary today................

Thoughts & Memories of May 21st 1982 from Ships crew HMS ANTRIM

Bomb Alley, 21st May 1982, watch on, stop on.

My action station was midships repair party and when on defence watches I always seemed to be on watch before or after any action stations broadcast. After the previous day’s excitement with Fanning Head and a few hundred rounds of 4.5 later, we were all a bit knackered by now. Action stations once again as we entered the Sound ready for who knew what but somehow we all thought something interesting was going to happen. Fast forward to screaming jets and the ship getting shot to bits and midships seemed to be a lively place to be!. So the site of the wardroom party going aft to check out a big thud didn’t seem abnormal. The sight of them legging it back looking a bit more flustered than five minutes previously muttering about a bomb in the after heads took a small while to filter through our very tired minds. Converted to ‘there’s a bomb in the aft shitter’ soon had us all focused though. For my sins I got the chance to go aft and see if they needed any help! The site of the lone bomb disposal guy (brave, brave man) bent over an unexploded 1000lb British bomb, put the fear of god in me. As if that wasn’t enough I then got another opportunity to help take the oxy acetylene bottles from the midships store onto the flight deck so that the hole could be cut and the bomb ditched over the side. It was now very late in the day. The idea was to put as many as possible as far forward in the ship as could be, steam the ship at a rate of knots and then ditch the bomb over the side via the jury rigged derrick. If it did go off it would still have been a good plan (the only one possible!), but I might not be sitting here to tell the tale. My place forward ended up being in No 5 P.O’s mess. My section P.O, John Howard (where are you now my friend?) was a resident of this mess. It was well after 23.30

I remember looking at my watch and seeing it was still my birthday but only just.

Stu Pennock. Ex WEM(R1), now aged 46 and three quarters and counting!

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Dear Diary,

The very, very early morning of May 21st came all too soon (I‘d only just got my head down!!).

My action station was on the NBCD comm’s net and Incident Board marker in HQ1.

The brace drill then was to lie face down with your hands over your head……for every exercise and every incident till then there had been no problem. I would cuddle up with Jock Curren, Cdr “S” and the NBCD “O” on the deck in the tiny HQ1. Now, when it mattered, I found that some B****** had swapped my headset for one with a shorter cable. At the first Air Raid Warning Red, I couldn’t reach the deck and keep my headset on!!! I was convinced that something was going to come through the ships side and “get me” as I huddled in the corner of HQ1!!

All that was soon forgotten when the action started for real. I think I remember a dull thud of the bomb hitting (maybe my memory is a bit cloudy after several dit’s at several reunions and several beers). The next thing was reports of fires and floods coming in from Aft and Midships section bases. Fire in 2P2 passageway, damage in Aft heads, flood in Aft heads, breach in firemain in Aft heads and blistering on flight deck. Then, there was a quite excited voice from Aft in my headset, “Taff there’s an ******* unexploded bomb in the After S***house!!!” I think it was LMEM Willy Wiles on the other end of the headset and bearing in mind he was only about 1 compartment away from where the bomb had come to rest, he could be forgiven for sounding excited. Once the proper voice procedure was re-established……….. Willy repeated it clearly an I announced it to the NBCD Command. Lots of people ran Aft then (and some Fwd)!! As I remember, the next couple of hours and next Air raids were hectic but not manic. All the incidents seamed to be handled very professionally, splinter holes in 2M2, explosion in 3Q, possible fires in Seaslug power room / boiler box / shipwrights shop, flooding in 3N and 3P messes. And then the reports of fires extinguished, splinter holes wedged and shored, etc started coming in. I think it was Cdr “S” that defused the tension in HQ1 with trivial little snippets like “why are Babies Heads called that??” and “what is S*** on a raft??”. He knew fine what they were but it lightened the atmosphere.

There was no symbol on the Incident Board for “Unexploded Bomb”, Jock and I spent the next hour drawing symbols for it!!

As that long, long day drew to a close and everyone was crammed up Fwd for the bomb removal and disposal, the realisation of just how lucky we were sank in. It wasn’t until we returned home that I found out just how BIG a 1000lb bomb was!!

When we finally got back to the mess we had to rip up the sodden carpet from the port gulch in 3P mess and mop up the last of San Carlos water from the deck (I think I managed to squeeze a quick tinnie or 2 in whilst helping with this task!!). The holes in the ships side were “wedged” no more water was coming in and I had about 2 hours of sleep before my next watch!!

Taff Dale, LWEM ®, Normally 901 TS but Action Station HQ1.

Dear Diary May 21st 1982

The First Aid party had been closed up at action stations for some time that morning in the wardroom everything was prepared but not really knowing what to expect, “not like the old FOST in Portland” I thought.

How right I was! “Air Raid Warning Red” shortly afterwards came the sound of cannon fire hitting the ship. “Casualties on the flag deck” off we went, I followed one of our team through the screen door, a killick chef i believe, as I exited I was dragged to one side as cannon shells rattled against the ship, boy did I owe him!

He moved off to help the bootie sergeant who had been injured, I went over to a young AB seaman who had suffered shrapnel wounds to his face, planes were everywhere as we tended the injured, it was then we realised what a target we were! White vests with a great big red cross on, needless to say we retreated to the wardroom to treat the casualties, we did not want to put anybody else under unnecessary risk.

The day progressed with us being called to several incidents & helping other first aid teams as required, eventually we evacuated our two most seriously injured by helo the first chance we got, nearly ended up with a one way ticket though as the flight crew wanted a first aider to stay with them!

So we survived the day with memories that will be with us forever & with thanks to the people that trained us to “do our duties”.

Kev Daw ex LSA

“Dear Diary today 21st May 1982 was one of the luckiest days of my life”.

After last nights NGS on Fanning Head and hours preparing the GDP for what was expected to be a very busy day we slowly slipped in San Carlos water with the landing force. As the sun rose over the hills there was the “Great White Whale” Canberra anchored and off unloading her troops along with Fearless, guarded by other ships of the Task Force.

Then listening on the Air Raid circuit I heard the shout “Low Bogies” and heard the scream as jets came form behind the hills low and fast. Guns started firing people shouting out relative bearings of the aircraft but they were travelling so fast they had gone by the time you looked.

As the second wave came around “Shents” was hit with shrapnel, cries for “First Aid Teams to the GDP” rang out over the internal comms, the main mast had also been hit by 20/30mm cannon fire for the aircraft. The air raid subsided and we got Shents down out of the bin to be treated.It was not long before the next raid came in small arms and 20mm blasting away at the target, then the next raid, it was during this raid that we took a 1000lb bomb down the backend. I heard the report go out over the radio and passed the information around the GDP’s crew. After this raid we did a “buddy” check and the guy in the 903 Director turned around to the GDP and signalled to Les “Daisy” Adams and myself to look at the front of the GDP, we lent over and there directly in front of us was a 20/30mm hole, we looked at each other and looked at the hole again.

We could not believe that neither of us had any injuries from it, we gave each other a good check over back and front. Then we noticed another hole about 3 feet above our heads in the main mast,

“What colour is adrenaline” ……

Raids continued into the afternoon and we still had this unexploded bomb down aft. I then heard that it had been made safe (Defused).

Late afternoon and the Anti Air Warfare Officer came to the GDP to give some support and helped spotting aircraft, but I am afraid that all he kept reporting was seagull’s…. Ummm.With bullet holes around me and the Bomb down aft do you see why this is one the luckiest days of my life! I still have lots more memories of this day.

Steve “Winnie” Churchill

Ex-Leading Seaman (Radar)