Spare a thought today

[Groverdog 0]

Will def do that (didnt know civies could do that). Very tiny thanks for all the brave lads and lassies do to keep us safe. R.I.P to all who have died serving this country.

[Guest Lurcherbitch]

raise a glass for them who have been there, and dont forget if you want to make the day of some of the chaps still serving in iraq or afganistan, bung a pot noodle, a pack of wet wipes and a bike magazine (or anything like that) in a box and send it via the bfpo in mill hill. It will cost you UK postage only, and will make their day.

 

Cant we make that wider known!!! i had no idea we could do that.... lets shout it from the roof tops and get our guys some stuff.xx

[socks 32,253]

raise a glass indeed ... the only sorrow i have is that there will never be a rememberence or a memorial for all the service men who have lost their lives in iraq as it is seen as a peace keeping mission and not a war .... if the poloticians spent a day with any front line troops out there they would soon realise that they are indeed in a war zone ............

[Yokel Matt 918]

Good stuff Baldie with thanks and respect to those who died and still suffer.

 

Matt

[Ian F 0]

from reading tell me wheres britain gone not sure thats something to be proud of but im sure as hell proud of him

[/quote

 

Hope he's back home with you soon.

 

RIP to all those who lost their lives in The Falklands.

 

Mrs F

[ferret15 0]

hi just a quick note on posting via bfpo in afgan they have rules no porn will be let through this includes FHM and the likes every parcle is screaned and if this is included in it it will be bined and decent coffee is always welcome not sure wheaather the bfpo for civies is the same as us but i have to send it to bfpo792 just to know that someone back home is thinking of them smakes it seam less pointless the more suport the better the moral

 

mrs f

he will be home i october/november thank you

Edited June 15, 2007 by ferret15

[Guest MOLLY]

Bless them all. Retired, serving, alive and dead. I have nothing but respect for our countries armed services.

MOLL.

[Groverdog 0]

Hi Ferret15 could you post the full address/directions for sending a parcel out as i am a bit confuesed as to how to send it. And suggest anything else that could go in it. Noted Coffee/pot noodle/wet wipes etc anything else? Really good idea and glad it would make them realise we DO support our troops whereever they are and whatever they are doing even if we dont agree with our Goverments reasons for sending them.

[ferret15 0]

for afgan it is

1 st bn royal anglian regt

camp bastion

op herrick 6

bfpo 792

 

if you know the person then include his/her army number/name/and company and which camp if you know if you just sending to who ever as above

 

include thing like crisps, supa noddles, sweets(not choc as it melts in seconds) roll on (pressuried containers can explode in the heat) shower gel, razors funny news paper articals jokes etc ,beef jerky,

use sturdy containers and be careful sending perishable goods it can take ages (weeks) to get there

just take it along to your local post office say its going to bfpo 792 and they will do the rest

THERE IS A WEIGHT LIMIT OF 2KG IF ITS OVER THIS YOU WILL HAVE TO SPLIT IT !!

Edited June 15, 2007 by ferret15

[Guest Magwitch]

Was listening to radio 2 at work yesterday and Jeremy Vine was interviewing a ex para who had fought at MT longdon, the stories he told about some of the lads fighting along side him were amazing, God bless

[bracken28 0]

Here here baldie..

 

and i raise my glass to all the lads/lass's that keep us and what we got left of our country safe,

[ferret15 0]

ross kemp is filming with our lot at the mo for one of his progams so watch out for it in the near future some of the thngs they deal with like killing kids because they r trying to kill you etc sucks.

every time they go away it changes them not always for the better but it dose make you thankful for the simple things in life

the bigist problem is they find it hard to talk about it as it is refered to as being weak. this is where the wives come in as they feal they can talk to us its hard to listen to and makes the next tour harder knowing what they will be doing. its our job as the wives to resocalise and bring them back to realalty its tuff so no wonder the divorce rates so high in the army !!

[Kenny_mac 7]

For B.F.P.O just address it to

 

For A Soldier serving in Iraq / Afghanistan B.F.P.O

 

It will Make it to some one they will appreciate it no matter what you put in it just one bit of advice before you put anything in and send it just think what would this look like if I put it in the tumble dryer for 2 hours that is what the B.F.P.O mail system is like I.E. Jelly Baby’s end up as one big ball but Dark Rum in a small coke bottle gets through and is great for moral and vodka in a Sprite bottle as well just a wee note no the bottle discreetly would be nice but not important it really can make life look not that bad at a really Shitty time

 

You may not get much of a reply if at all the lad’s are really busy but they will think the world of you for it

[RatSnatcher 0]

I just spotted this thread........

 

This is a bit that a friend wrote on another forum I look at.........

 

I thought it was worth posting on here.......

 

A great insight in to what was going on out there.......

 

 

After 25 years most of the days have merged into one, but I still remember certain things that happened. Some funny, some sad.

First thing we done at Goose Green was to dig in, that’s standard operating procedure whenever you are in a defensive position. Spent most of the day digging the trench the ground had gone from peaty bog to concrete, and it snowed. I remember looking at the slide in the children’s playground and the rocket launcher that the Argies had strapped to the top of it.

Our mates that had been killed were brought in from the battlefield and taken to Ajax bay. They were buried together in a mass grave.

Company HQ was located in a big black barn, which was good because it kept us out of the foul weather. Except when we was on stag or supervising Argie prisoners clearing up the mess they made. Every now and then you would hear the crack of pistols shots and the odd burst of automatic rifle fire as some of the lads tested out the Argy weapons. That was tolerated for a while, but when they started testing grenades orders were soon issued to pack it in.

I remember sitting in our barn one day when there was an explosion, I grabbed my webbing and weapon and legged it outside, just across the way was a bloke running round engulfed in flames and screaming his head off. An Argy soldier had been blown up by a booby trapped pile of ammo that had been left for us, b*****ds. A grim memory of a horrible death.

We were given a 30-minute warning order, which meant we had to get packed up and ready to move. One of our patrols had discovered that the settlement at Fitzroy was not occupied by the Argies. We were crammed into a Chinook (standing room only) and flown over to Fitzroy. My memory of that place is the howling wind and rain. We were back outside again having built a bunker as cover. The owner of the farm slaughtered a sheep and made a big stew and kept the kettle on permanently. We were allowed down to the farm in small groups for a hot drink and some stew.

We were relieved by the Scots guards, who had spent twelve hours in an open landing craft in rough seas to get to us. They were looking a bit sodden when they arrived.

Good lads. They were keen to get stuck in and asked what it was like going into battle. Couldn’t really answer that then any more than I can now. They would soon find out though, they had a bloody battle ahead on Tumbledown Mountain.

Most of the company was airlifted to Bluff cove, but a few of us stayed behind for another night. That was OK because the Scots Guards were stagging on, and we kipped in the barn. I remember one of there officers moaning because he had stumbled through the latrines. The thought of a wooden top Rupert trudging through the Airborne turd cemetery made us chuckle.

The next morning we joined the rest of the battalion at Bluff Cove.

At Bluff Cove the sun was shining and we was sitting on our newly built bunker eying up a flock of wild geese. Someone asked if we could shoot one, but was told no, shooting the wildlife was not allowed. That didn’t put Dave Martin off, we watched him creeping up on this flock of geese with this bowie knife he had. When he got close enough he jumped up and threw the knife, the jammy git only hit one. I don’t know if it was blade side or handle side, but it stunned the bird long enough for him to run over and grab it. Bad day for the bird, good day for us. Plucked and gutted one of the locals shoved it in the oven for us. We had roast goose with our compo rations that night.

On the June 8th we was on a stand down period and allowed to go to a huge sheep sheering shed where we could carry out personal admin tasks. There must have been a couple of hundred blokes in there, cleaning weapons, brewing up, washing and shaving and sorting feet out. We had been given an air raid warning red. No one seemed bothered though, you just kept you kit close and carried on. First thing I new about the attack was when the jets came roaring overhead, we grabbed our kit and legged it to our stand to positions. I could hear the explosions and just over a small ridge I could see black smoke, something had been hit. The Argy pilots came round for a second attack, this time we were ready for them. The whole battalion pointed weapons skywards and opened fire. The argies had to fly into a wall off tracer.

I hadn’t realised that 2 Landing ships, Sir Tristram and Sir Galahad had arrived during the night; it was them that the Argies had been going for. Both ships had been hit. Sir Galahad was full of Welsh Guardsmen who were due to disembark that morning. No one needed any orders; we just went down to the waters edge to help the survivors. Horrific is the only word that can describe what I saw. I can’t imagine what it was like on board the Sir Galahad. The seriously injured were being treated by our medics, who were rushing round trying to help as many as they could, before the were casi-vaced back to the field hospital at Ajax bay. Some of the Guardsmen that hadn’t been physically injured we took back to the sheep shed, some had been in the water and were suffering from hypothermia and shock, the best we could do for them was to get them some warm kit and make hot brews and talk to them.

 

By the 11th June the battalion had moved forward to the base of Mt kent, we were to be in reserve for 3 Para who were going to assault Mt Longdon.

June 13th we prepared for our own attack on Wireless Ridge. We were on air raid warning red as we prepared hundreds of rounds for the mortars and had them all stacked in cargo nets ready to be airlifted to the mortar line. I remember watching as the Argy Skyhawks flew in, really low and fast. You could see the muzzle flashes from there guns. They dropped bombs on us, which had air brakes on them. It made it look like they were coming down in slow motion, right on top of us. I jumped down into a crevice for cover. As the bombs exploded you could feel the shock waves through the ground. I remember looking over at the Royal artillery Blowpipe (anti aircraft missile) team just as a bomb exploded between me and them. They disappeared in a big spout of dirt and flying peat bog, I thought they were goners. When the dirt settled they were still stood there, steady as a rock, f***ing amazing.

We had our final O group (orders) before we were airlifted to the Mortar line. This time the battalion wouldn’t be short of fire support. We were taking all eight mortars this time, all the guns from the medium machine gun platoon. 3 Para’s mortars were on standby. Four CVTRs from the Blues and Royals, two batteries of artillery and naval gun fire from HMS Ambuscade. At the end of the briefing one of the platoon sergeants told us that the mortar line would be DFd and we could expect to be shelled by Argy artillery. I can still remember that dryness you get in your mouth and the knot you get in your stomach, I wondered if I would ever see home again.

(DF means defensive fire. Defending troops always register target information for all dead ground and places that an attack may come from. They can then fire their artillery without the need for spotters)

 

Setting up the mortars was problematic because the ground was so soft, it meant the base plates would slip or just sink and our fire would be inaccurate. Normally in that situation we would have dug a hole and put a ration bag in (basically an overgrown bean bag) that the mortar could bed in on. That wasn’t possible though because most of that type of kit had gone down when the Atlantic Conveyor was sunk. As an improvisation we had some 45-gallon oil drums cut in half and filled with gravel that would provide a solid base for our mortars. The attack began after dark; it was what was called a noisy attack. That meant lots of mortar and artillery fire going in. I remember watching the long lines of tracer from our MMG platoon pouring onto Argy positions. The Blues and Royals would drive forward up to the top of the slope fire off a few rounds then reverse back to reload. The oil drums were working ok to a certain degree, firing illum and adjusting our shot onto the target was OK. But as soon as we fired for effect the base plates started bouncing. The lads took it in turns standing on them to hold them steady that meant taking the force of the recoil through their legs. Four of them broke their ankles or legs that night, no way would we let our mates in the rifle companies down.

The Argy artillery was firing back, and we took shellfire for most of the night. They weren’t sure exactly where we were so they moved their fire around the slope hoping to hit us. I remember the whirring and clunk as the illumination round went off over head, followed by the high explosive shells, They landed all round us the shock ways were like being punched in the face. One round landed between the CP and the number one mortar, I shouted out to Paddy who was on that mortar to ask if they were OK. No answer, I shouted about four times before he shouted back that they were OK. Paddy was a good mate, I shouted at him saying “why the F**k didn’t you answer I thought that one had you†He just shouted back “ we’re digging a F**king hole†By first light the ridge was cleared and the Argies were pouring down through Moody Brook into Port Stanley. We had one last fire mission just to help them on their way, before we took the mortars out of action and prepared to move forward. As it got lighter messages started coming in that white flags were flying over Port Stanley. It took a while for confirmation that they were surrendering, but it felt like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders when they did. I remember walking along the road into Port Stanley thinking what a mess the Argies had made. We walked past a dead Argie soldier just laid in the road with some corrugated tin laid on top of him. I stopped off at a house that had been occupied by C company 3 Para. We all new they had had a hard fight on Mount Longdon and lost a lot of good blokes, but we didn’t know who. I had some mates from back home who were in 3 Para and I wanted to find out if they were OK. We were only allowed to go so far into Port Stanley because although the Argies had surrendered they were still armed. The brass didn’t want any misunderstandings starting off a firefight.

We found an unoccupied house and made that our base for the night, I spent a restless night listening to shellfire going on in my head.

 

3rd Battalion. The Parachute Regiment. Mount Longdon 11/12th June 1982

 

PTE R J ABSOLON. MM

PTE G BULL

PTE J S BURT

PTE J D CROW

PTE M S DODSWORTH

PTE A D GREENWOOD

PTE N GROSE

PTE P J HEDICKER

L/CPL P D HIGGS

CPL S HOPE

PTE T R JENKINS

PTE C D JONES

PTE S I LAING

L/CPL C K LOVETT

CPL S P F McLAUGHLIN

CPL K J McCARTHY

SGT I J McKAY. VC

L/CPL J H MURDOCH

L/CPL D E SCOTT

PTE I P SCRIVENS

PTE P A WEST

 

2nd Battalion. The Parachute Regiment. 13/14 June 1982. Wireless Ridge

 

C/SGT G P M FINDLAY

PTE D A PARR

PTE F SLOUGH

 

We will remember them.

[Groverdog 0]

Got a few bits today so will send off on Monday. Thanks for giving out the address details. Work at a bar so will advertise to all that us civies can do somat to make there days a little sweeter!