The Falklands War: the journals of the Fleet's Medical

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Journal of the Royal Naval Medical Service 2017; 103(2)

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The Falklands War: the journals of the Fleet’s Medical Officers J G Penn-Barwell

Abstract In response to the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, a large Naval task force was rapidly despatched to the South Atlantic to retake the islands. These ships carried Medical Officers, typically junior doctors who were providing care to their ship’s company whilst they shared their danger and emotions as the conflict evolved. On return they submitted their journals, providing a unique insight into the hasty assembly of the task force, the fight against enemy aircraft, the provision of Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) to the land forces and the repatriation and care of the casualties of war. Penn-Barwell J G. J R Nav Med Serv 2017;103(2):76–82 Introduction Ships’ Medical Officers (MOs) were required from the late eighteenth century to submit a log or journal covering their deployment. Fleet Temporary Memorandum 215 of 1990 terminated the requirement, but in 1982, the journal was typed onto a form M179A, which requested the MO to “Include any information of a professional or scientific character which the Medical Officer may consider to be of value or interest.” This fairly ambiguous instruction was interpreted in many different ways; some submitted a very formal report with sub-headings such as ‘hygiene’ and ‘ventilation’. Others recorded their experiences as a journal in an informal, narrative style with humorous observations and often very personal admissions of their fears and emotions. A few included their own or ship’s photographs, some of which have been included in this article. On return from Operation CORPORATE, each MO submitted his M179A to the Fleet MO. Then, as now, the majority of the MOs throughout the Fleet were relatively inexperienced doctors who had only been qualified for a few years. These journals have not been previously published and provide a unique perspective on the conflict. The start of the conflict and mobilisation The Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands was an example of hybrid warfare; an initial, seemingly civilian, occupation of South Georgia on 19 March, followed by an overt military invasion of the Falklands on 2 April 1982. The British Task Force was hastily despatched to the South Atlantic, as Surg Lt Simmons, future MO of HMS BRILLIANT, recounts: My joining HMS BRILLIANT was something of the classical pierhead jump, only in these circumstances somehow one didn’t mind… A ‘phone call at 2200 on Sunday 4 April saw five doctors in the MOIC’s office in HASLAR, being told that transport would leave at 0530 the following morning for RAF

LYNEHAM to catch a Hercules bound for Ascension Island… A journey never to be forgotten. We landed at Ascension Island at 0745, Tuesday 6 April. Operation PARAQUET - the re-taking of South Georgia The first military engagement of the re-taking of the Falkland Islands was the landing of Royal Marines and Special Forces on the island of South Georgia, which was made extremely difficult due to the Antarctic weather conditions. Pivotal to the success or failure of this operation would be the actions of the Argentine submarine, ARA SANTA FE, whose suspected presence in the area limited the ability of the Royal Navy (RN) to manoeuvre around the Islands. Surg Lt Munro gave this account of HMS ENDURANCE’s role in the operation: After several days of attempted troop insertions along the North East coast of the island, the dangerous terrain had taken its toll. Two of [RFA] TIDESPRING’s Wessex 5s had been destroyed whilst crash landing on the notoriously treacherous Fortuna glacier. Marvellously, no-one was even injured. Everyone was removed by the skilful flying of ANTRIM’s [Wessex] 3. We were sent to recover other units who were in trouble in Hound Bay. Whilst the situation was being re-appraised the following day, 23 April, intelligence stated that a submarine was approaching the Island from the North West… With the feeling that we had played this game before, we literally hugged the coast and made for the South East of the Island. There we drifted amongst a cluster of about a dozen bergs - the only protection we had from a submarine. An intercept on that second evening had located the submarine close to South Georgia… By mid-morning ANTRIM’s Wessex 3 launched at full range armed with depth charges and torpedoes, spotted the Santa Fe on the surface about 5 miles out of Cumberland Bay and attacked it. Having been depth charged the submarine turned and headed back into the bay, when our first Wasp [helicopter] fired both AS12 missiles: anti-tank weapons. The first one hit the conning tower injuring one Argentine sailor.

Figure 1: ARA SANTA FE stricken and alongside the jetty of G rytviken whaling station in South Georgia with the Wasp h elicopter from HMS ENDURANCE flying overhead. (Crown Copyright)

Several other attacks by all of the ship’s helicopters resulted in the Santa Fe retreating into the bay and going alongside at King Edward’s Point. With the location and immobilisation of the submarine the returning forces took advantage of this situation and decided to attack there and then. Joined by BRILLIANT for air defence, PLYMOUTH and ANTRIM poured NGS into an area behind Grytviken. The sight of three ships in line firing their guns is quite unforgettable. Our troops were landed by helicopter and not surprisingly the Argentines surrendered very shortly afterwards. Initial air operations As the Task Force approached the Falklands, RN ships came within range of aircraft based on mainland Argentina. HMS YARMOUTH, known in the Task Force as ‘Crazy Y’, was one of the Frigates deployed as an anti-air picket. Her MO, Surg Lt Cope, reported on the stresses of defence watches under air attack as Crazy Y neared the Falklands on 1 May: The first two waves of Mirage aircraft turned back as soon as they detected our Harriers. They apparently dropped their bombs and turned tail for home screaming for fuel. The third wave included a Super Étendard. A hostile missile release was called and by now my knees were only just supporting me. The three inch chaff rocket fired and that nearly finished me off… Several air raids closed throughout the day and they started to get through the Harrier patrols. ARROW was hit by cannon shells a few miles along the coast from us sustaining one casualty. A raid of Canberra bombers came

remarkably close and a Mirage that overflew and strafed HMS GLAMORGAN was brought down… At the end of the day, after eleven, gruelling, knee trembling hours at action stations a probable five Mirages and two Canberras had been brought down. It was an exhausted crowd who gathered in the Wardroom that night for pot mess. The padre and I had no problems in dealing with a couple of pints of CSB each. We were grateful to be alive still. HMS YARMOUTH survived these air raids unscathed but the Type 42 destroyer HMS SHEFFIELD was not so lucky as her MO, Surg Lt Ward, reports in his account of 4 May 1982: The ship was hit by an Exocet missile in the region of the galley/ fwd AMR on the starboard side. The subsequent fire spread out of control, forcing the crew to abandon ship some 4½ hours later. The ship was not at action stations at the time. A total of 20 members of the ship’s company lost their lives… Within a very short period of time the whole of the ship below decks from the Yankee doors forward of 2M/N cross-passage became filled with smoke and fumes, becoming uninhabitable… Thus the fwd FAP/EOS [First Aid Post] was never operable, and the aft FAP and sickbay evacuated once helo casevac [helicopter casualty evacuation] was established… Apart from the door to the sickbay, which I could hardly fail to notice being blown in and landing at my feet, I later learned that

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The Falklands War: the journals of the Fleet’s Medical Officers J G Penn-Barwell

Abstract In response to the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands in 1982, a large Naval task force was rapidly despatched to the South Atlantic to retake the islands. These ships carried Medical Officers, typically junior doctors who were providing care to their ship’s company whilst they shared their danger and emotions as the conflict evolved. On return they submitted their journals, providing a unique insight into the hasty assembly of the task force, the fight against enemy aircraft, the provision of Naval Gunfire Support (NGS) to the land forces and the repatriation and care of the casualties of war. Penn-Barwell J G. J R Nav Med Serv 2017;103(2):76–82 Introduction Ships’ Medical Officers (MOs) were required from the late eighteenth century to submit a log or journal covering their deployment. Fleet Temporary Memorandum 215 of 1990 terminated the requirement, but in 1982, the journal was typed onto a form M179A, which requested the MO to “Include any information of a professional or scientific character which the Medical Officer may consider to be of value or interest.” This fairly ambiguous instruction was interpreted in many different ways; some submitted a very formal report with sub-headings such as ‘hygiene’ and ‘ventilation’. Others recorded their experiences as a journal in an informal, narrative style with humorous observations and often very personal admissions of their fears and emotions. A few included their own or ship’s photographs, some of which have been included in this article. On return from Operation CORPORATE, each MO submitted his M179A to the Fleet MO. Then, as now, the majority of the MOs throughout the Fleet were relatively inexperienced doctors who had only been qualified for a few years. These journals have not been previously published and provide a unique perspective on the conflict. The start of the conflict and mobilisation The Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands was an example of hybrid warfare; an initial, seemingly civilian, occupation of South Georgia on 19 March, followed by an overt military invasion of the Falklands on 2 April 1982. The British Task Force was hastily despatched to the South Atlantic, as Surg Lt Simmons, future MO of HMS BRILLIANT, recounts: My joining HMS BRILLIANT was something of the classical pierhead jump, only in these circumstances somehow one didn’t mind… A ‘phone call at 2200 on Sunday 4 April saw five doctors in the MOIC’s office in HASLAR, being told that transport would leave at 0530 the following morning for RAF

LYNEHAM to catch a Hercules bound for Ascension Island… A journey never to be forgotten. We landed at Ascension Island at 0745, Tuesday 6 April. Operation PARAQUET - the re-taking of South Georgia The first military engagement of the re-taking of the Falkland Islands was the landing of Royal Marines and Special Forces on the island of South Georgia, which was made extremely difficult due to the Antarctic weather conditions. Pivotal to the success or failure of this operation would be the actions of the Argentine submarine, ARA SANTA FE, whose suspected presence in the area limited the ability of the Royal Navy (RN) to manoeuvre around the Islands. Surg Lt Munro gave this account of HMS ENDURANCE’s role in the operation: After several days of attempted troop insertions along the North East coast of the island, the dangerous terrain had taken its toll. Two of [RFA] TIDESPRING’s Wessex 5s had been destroyed whilst crash landing on the notoriously treacherous Fortuna glacier. Marvellously, no-one was even injured. Everyone was removed by the skilful flying of ANTRIM’s [Wessex] 3. We were sent to recover other units who were in trouble in Hound Bay. Whilst the situation was being re-appraised the following day, 23 April, intelligence stated that a submarine was approaching the Island from the North West… With the feeling that we had played this game before, we literally hugged the coast and made for the South East of the Island. There we drifted amongst a cluster of about a dozen bergs - the only protection we had from a submarine. An intercept on that second evening had located the submarine close to South Georgia… By mid-morning ANTRIM’s Wessex 3 launched at full range armed with depth charges and torpedoes, spotted the Santa Fe on the surface about 5 miles out of Cumberland Bay and attacked it. Having been depth charged the submarine turned and headed back into the bay, when our first Wasp [helicopter] fired both AS12 missiles: anti-tank weapons. The first one hit the conning tower injuring one Argentine sailor.

Figure 1: ARA SANTA FE stricken and alongside the jetty of G rytviken whaling station in South Georgia with the Wasp h elicopter from HMS ENDURANCE flying overhead. (Crown Copyright)

Several other attacks by all of the ship’s helicopters resulted in the Santa Fe retreating into the bay and going alongside at King Edward’s Point. With the location and immobilisation of the submarine the returning forces took advantage of this situation and decided to attack there and then. Joined by BRILLIANT for air defence, PLYMOUTH and ANTRIM poured NGS into an area behind Grytviken. The sight of three ships in line firing their guns is quite unforgettable. Our troops were landed by helicopter and not surprisingly the Argentines surrendered very shortly afterwards. Initial air operations As the Task Force approached the Falklands, RN ships came within range of aircraft based on mainland Argentina. HMS YARMOUTH, known in the Task Force as ‘Crazy Y’, was one of the Frigates deployed as an anti-air picket. Her MO, Surg Lt Cope, reported on the stresses of defence watches under air attack as Crazy Y neared the Falklands on 1 May: The first two waves of Mirage aircraft turned back as soon as they detected our Harriers. They apparently dropped their bombs and turned tail for home screaming for fuel. The third wave included a Super Étendard. A hostile missile release was called and by now my knees were only just supporting me. The three inch chaff rocket fired and that nearly finished me off… Several air raids closed throughout the day and they started to get through the Harrier patrols. ARROW was hit by cannon shells a few miles along the coast from us sustaining one casualty. A raid of Canberra bombers came

remarkably close and a Mirage that overflew and strafed HMS GLAMORGAN was brought down… At the end of the day, after eleven, gruelling, knee trembling hours at action stations a probable five Mirages and two Canberras had been brought down. It was an exhausted crowd who gathered in the Wardroom that night for pot mess. The padre and I had no problems in dealing with a couple of pints of CSB each. We were grateful to be alive still. HMS YARMOUTH survived these air raids unscathed but the Type 42 destroyer HMS SHEFFIELD was not so lucky as her MO, Surg Lt Ward, reports in his account of 4 May 1982: The ship was hit by an Exocet missile in the region of the galley/ fwd AMR on the starboard side. The subsequent fire spread out of control, forcing the crew to abandon ship some 4½ hours later. The ship was not at action stations at the time. A total of 20 members of the ship’s company lost their lives… Within a very short period of time the whole of the ship below decks from the Yankee doors forward of 2M/N cross-passage became filled with smoke and fumes, becoming uninhabitable… Thus the fwd FAP/EOS [First Aid Post] was never operable, and the aft FAP and sickbay evacuated once helo casevac [helicopter casualty evacuation] was established… Apart from the door to the sickbay, which I could hardly fail to notice being blown in and landing at my feet, I later learned that

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Figure 3: HMS FEARLESS in San Carlos water, with Argentine Dagger jet flying at low level visible behind the superstructure. Photograph used by kind permission of Surg Capt Rick Jolly OBE, RN (Rtd). Figure 2: Lt Cdr Alfredo Astiz formally surrendering Argentine forces on South Georgia to Captain Nick Barker and Captain Brian Young of HMS ENDURANCE and HMS ANTRIM in the wardroom of HMS PLYMOUTH. Lt Cdr Alfredo was subsequently convicted in 2011 of crimes against humanity for his actions against dissidents under the 1976-1983 military dictatorship in Argentina. (Crown Copyright)

the blast damage had jammed the drawers under the bunks and below the poisons cupboard, half open and warped. The operating table was also warped in its horizontal position. Forward, all the crew made their own escape, helping each other, and applying basic first aid in the form of field dressings. It was notable that many of the people applying basic first aid to others, had it pointed out to them that they were more badly injured than the ones they were treating. The escape route for the majority was through the 2 small escape hatches to the fo’castle. Aft, the injured quickly arrived in the sickbay where first aiders who had been sleeping aft were gathering… These casualties were then transferred to the flight deck for evacuation as helicopters were arriving. An improvised FAP was set up in the hangar using stores from the sickbay and first aid box in the hangar. The situation had appeared to me to be extremely serious and so I took the line that all casualties were to be evacuated. This included a number of shock cases, as the reality of what had happened began to sink in… The final evacuation of all remaining personnel took place some 4½ hours after impact… as both HMS YARMOUTH and ARROW were alongside fire-fighting and ammunition was being dropped into the sea from the flight deck. During the attempts to save HMS SHEFFIELD, the wider fight continued, as Surg Lt Cope on board HMS YARMOUTH recalled:

As we approached SHEFFIELD the Officer of the Watch saw what he assumed to be a flare on the horizon. Some seconds later, a missile passed one thousand yards on the starboard bow… We had chaff up at the time. The missile was either rogue or had homed on a chaff cloud. Either way we were lucky. The fight was not one-sided, however. The Type 22 frigate HMS BRILLIANT had been commissioned the year before; in this excerpt from his journal, the Ship’s MO Surg Lt Simmons recounts his experience of an air raid: At 1635, we were attacked by 4 Skyhawks. The first Sea Wolf missiles ever to be fired in anger were launched. The first two were direct hits while the third aircraft plunged into the water and broke up while trying to avoid the missile. The fourth aircraft headed for home rapidly but was apparently shot down by its own forces over Stanley. A second wave at 1705 managed to get through and drop their bombs, one of which passed through GLASGOW’s engine room without detonating. At least one bomb was seen to bounce over BRILLIANT. Operation SUTTON: the San Carlos landings - ‘Bomb Alley’ During the night of 21 May, 3 Commando Brigade and 2 PARA were landed in San Carlos Sound. This included the Medical Squadron of Commando Logistic Regiment, which occupied a deserted meat packing plant to establish a Role 2

surgical facility known as the ‘Red and Green Life Machine’ as detailed in Surg Capt Jolly’s memoirs of the conflict.1 After landing 40 Commando Royal Marines (RM) the assault ship HMS FEARLESS continued as a command platform for the operation. Her Principal MO Surg Cdr Whyte describes the situation in San Carlos water: Though few of us realised it, 21 May was to be the beginning of a five day siege of the Argentine Air Force on the anchorage at San Carlos, of such ferocity that it would have been conceivable for the Argentinians to have wiped out the landing group with its essential supplies at a stroke. The Argentinians sent over between 36-40 fixed wing jet aircraft throughout the daylight hours. HMS ARDENT was sunk in Grantham Sound after sustaining two mass raids of eight aircraft in two waves. The first wave damaged the hangar area with casualties suffered and the second wave blew the stern in half with a bomb explosion… The Medical Officer from HMS ARDENT was literally blown into the water by the second explosion of the bombs whilst tending a patient on the flight deck. He had the presence of mind to don his life jacket and once only suit whilst in the water. He stayed afloat for sufficient time for the Lynx [helicopter] from HMS BROADSWORD to rescue him and take him to the HMS FEARLESS sickbay. HMS ARDENT abandoned ship and the entire Ship’s company were rescued by HMS YARMOUTH and BROADSWORD. The landing of troops was only the initial phase; vast quantities of stores needed to be stockpiled in order to support the campaign to re-take the Islands. Protecting this ongoing oper-

ation against sustained air attack fell to the destroyers and frigates of the fleet, as Surg Lt Summers, HMS ARGONAUT’s MO, reported: The days between 20-29 May were a time of fright and exhilaration. HMS ARGONAUT took her place as escort to the landing forces as HM Marines began their recapturing of the Falkland Islands. During the daylight hours of 21 May, HMS ARGONAUT was subjected to several Argentine air attacks. Two crewmen died, locked in the flooded forward magazine after a bomb penetrated the hull. Three men were injured by shrapnel as they faced the aircraft with hand-held machine guns. The ships were not the only targets for the Argentine Air Force, as Surg Lt Cope, on board HMS YARMOUTH, recorded in his journal: It was a quiet day until 1930 when another undetected air raid of two A4s [Skyhawks] slipped over the hills from the South. This time their target was the disused refrigeration plant which was being used as the beachhead headquarters and hospital, but they were deterred by our 20mm. The next wave of two A4s hit the end of the building with parachute bombs causing five deaths… Our seaboat was ashore collecting sandbags. The only trench one of the lads could find during the air raid turned out to be the latrine. He wasn’t very welcome back on board. Despite the death and danger, some managed to see the lighter side, as General Duties MO, Surg S/Lt Spreadbridge, recorded:

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Figure 3: HMS FEARLESS in San Carlos water, with Argentine Dagger jet flying at low level visible behind the superstructure. Photograph used by kind permission of Surg Capt Rick Jolly OBE, RN (Rtd). Figure 2: Lt Cdr Alfredo Astiz formally surrendering Argentine forces on South Georgia to Captain Nick Barker and Captain Brian Young of HMS ENDURANCE and HMS ANTRIM in the wardroom of HMS PLYMOUTH. Lt Cdr Alfredo was subsequently convicted in 2011 of crimes against humanity for his actions against dissidents under the 1976-1983 military dictatorship in Argentina. (Crown Copyright)

the blast damage had jammed the drawers under the bunks and below the poisons cupboard, half open and warped. The operating table was also warped in its horizontal position. Forward, all the crew made their own escape, helping each other, and applying basic first aid in the form of field dressings. It was notable that many of the people applying basic first aid to others, had it pointed out to them that they were more badly injured than the ones they were treating. The escape route for the majority was through the 2 small escape hatches to the fo’castle. Aft, the injured quickly arrived in the sickbay where first aiders who had been sleeping aft were gathering… These casualties were then transferred to the flight deck for evacuation as helicopters were arriving. An improvised FAP was set up in the hangar using stores from the sickbay and first aid box in the hangar. The situation had appeared to me to be extremely serious and so I took the line that all casualties were to be evacuated. This included a number of shock cases, as the reality of what had happened began to sink in… The final evacuation of all remaining personnel took place some 4½ hours after impact… as both HMS YARMOUTH and ARROW were alongside fire-fighting and ammunition was being dropped into the sea from the flight deck. During the attempts to save HMS SHEFFIELD, the wider fight continued, as Surg Lt Cope on board HMS YARMOUTH recalled:

As we approached SHEFFIELD the Officer of the Watch saw what he assumed to be a flare on the horizon. Some seconds later, a missile passed one thousand yards on the starboard bow… We had chaff up at the time. The missile was either rogue or had homed on a chaff cloud. Either way we were lucky. The fight was not one-sided, however. The Type 22 frigate HMS BRILLIANT had been commissioned the year before; in this excerpt from his journal, the Ship’s MO Surg Lt Simmons recounts his experience of an air raid: At 1635, we were attacked by 4 Skyhawks. The first Sea Wolf missiles ever to be fired in anger were launched. The first two were direct hits while the third aircraft plunged into the water and broke up while trying to avoid the missile. The fourth aircraft headed for home rapidly but was apparently shot down by its own forces over Stanley. A second wave at 1705 managed to get through and drop their bombs, one of which passed through GLASGOW’s engine room without detonating. At least one bomb was seen to bounce over BRILLIANT. Operation SUTTON: the San Carlos landings - ‘Bomb Alley’ During the night of 21 May, 3 Commando Brigade and 2 PARA were landed in San Carlos Sound. This included the Medical Squadron of Commando Logistic Regiment, which occupied a deserted meat packing plant to establish a Role 2

surgical facility known as the ‘Red and Green Life Machine’ as detailed in Surg Capt Jolly’s memoirs of the conflict.1 After landing 40 Commando Royal Marines (RM) the assault ship HMS FEARLESS continued as a command platform for the operation. Her Principal MO Surg Cdr Whyte describes the situation in San Carlos water: Though few of us realised it, 21 May was to be the beginning of a five day siege of the Argentine Air Force on the anchorage at San Carlos, of such ferocity that it would have been conceivable for the Argentinians to have wiped out the landing group with its essential supplies at a stroke. The Argentinians sent over between 36-40 fixed wing jet aircraft throughout the daylight hours. HMS ARDENT was sunk in Grantham Sound after sustaining two mass raids of eight aircraft in two waves. The first wave damaged the hangar area with casualties suffered and the second wave blew the stern in half with a bomb explosion… The Medical Officer from HMS ARDENT was literally blown into the water by the second explosion of the bombs whilst tending a patient on the flight deck. He had the presence of mind to don his life jacket and once only suit whilst in the water. He stayed afloat for sufficient time for the Lynx [helicopter] from HMS BROADSWORD to rescue him and take him to the HMS FEARLESS sickbay. HMS ARDENT abandoned ship and the entire Ship’s company were rescued by HMS YARMOUTH and BROADSWORD. The landing of troops was only the initial phase; vast quantities of stores needed to be stockpiled in order to support the campaign to re-take the Islands. Protecting this ongoing oper-

ation against sustained air attack fell to the destroyers and frigates of the fleet, as Surg Lt Summers, HMS ARGONAUT’s MO, reported: The days between 20-29 May were a time of fright and exhilaration. HMS ARGONAUT took her place as escort to the landing forces as HM Marines began their recapturing of the Falkland Islands. During the daylight hours of 21 May, HMS ARGONAUT was subjected to several Argentine air attacks. Two crewmen died, locked in the flooded forward magazine after a bomb penetrated the hull. Three men were injured by shrapnel as they faced the aircraft with hand-held machine guns. The ships were not the only targets for the Argentine Air Force, as Surg Lt Cope, on board HMS YARMOUTH, recorded in his journal: It was a quiet day until 1930 when another undetected air raid of two A4s [Skyhawks] slipped over the hills from the South. This time their target was the disused refrigeration plant which was being used as the beachhead headquarters and hospital, but they were deterred by our 20mm. The next wave of two A4s hit the end of the building with parachute bombs causing five deaths… Our seaboat was ashore collecting sandbags. The only trench one of the lads could find during the air raid turned out to be the latrine. He wasn’t very welcome back on board. Despite the death and danger, some managed to see the lighter side, as General Duties MO, Surg S/Lt Spreadbridge, recorded:

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Figure 4: HMHS UGANDA with HMSs HECLA, HYDRA and HERALD in their role as hospital/ambulance ships registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross. (Crown Copyright)

One survivor from HMS ANTELOPE was delighted to have cashed a cheque onboard the ship for £50 the morning the ship was hit. That cheque would never get to the bank! Nearly all of the MOs remark in their journals on the insufficient roughage in the diet on board ship and the consequently high rates of haemorrhoids and constipation amongst their sailors. However, Surg Lt Gilbert from HMS GLAMORGAN offered an alternative solution to the concerns about constipation: We find five air raids a day is sufficient. Roughage would be superfluous. Naval gunfire support to the land forces As British land forces closed on Goose Green and then the ring of mountains surrounding the capital Port Stanley, the Fleet’s destroyers and frigates were tasked to provide NGS. After the involvement in the re-capture of South Georgia, HMS PLYMOUTH was providing air defence protection to the Task Force in San Carlos when she was re-tasked. Her MO, the then Surg Lt Alasdair Walker, described the events of that day: Tuesday, 8 June started as any other in San Carlos. At 1550 PLYMOUTH was ordered to proceed from San Carlos into Falkland Sound and provide direct gunnery support to SAS troops trying to locate an Argentinian look-out post which had been a thorn in our side since “D” day. PLYMOUTH weighed and sailed. At 1645, an air attack was reported due in half an hour, but at 1658 Mirage fighter bombers came flying down the Sound at low altitude. PLYMOUTH did not appear to be their original goal, but she was too opportune a target to miss.

Within minutes, PLYMOUTH was under attack. She was hit by cannon shell and bombs. A depth charge on the flight deck exploded and a major fire broke out in the after PO’s mess. Rapidly, thick smoke filled the after section, and the fire spread to the junior and senior rates’ dining halls. The sick bay and after first aid post were evacuated and the wardroom became the major casualty handling area. By the time all casualties had been evacuated, the fire was out and an assessment could be made of the damage and minor casualties seen to. Several members of the turret’s crew were shaken and had superficial shrapnel wounds. These were all cleaned and dressed. Only one of the firefighters required further antibiotic treatment for a “dirty” chest. This was clear after 24 hours. The attack had left the ship with holes through the mortar bomb room and where the depth charge had gone off over the after PO’s mess. There were minor cannon holes in several places throughout the ship and a large hole through the funnel. The door of the mortar handling room had disappeared along with the port quarterdeck ladder and the mortar barrels were bent. On the inside, the after PO’s mess and both dining halls were gutted and the after section blackened with smoke. The sickbay was not unscathed. An armour piercing bullet had entered through the port side, through the junior rates’ shower cubicles, through a fire locker, across 2 deck passageway, on through the sickbay door, across the sickbay, finally stopping in the opposite bulkhead and landing on the deck. Despite the damage sustained, HMS PLYMOUTH was back on the gun line 6 days later. Likewise, the journal of Surg Lt

Figure 5: Some of the crew of HMS HECLA with the casualties they were repatriating via Montevideo. Silver sulfadiazine dressing bags for hand burns are visible. Army casualties have been issued temporary clothing to replace their burnt uniforms. (Crown Copyright)

Cope on board HMS YARMOUTH describes the risks of closing to shore to support land forces: We were also uneasy about the reports of Exocet missiles mounted on the back of lorries in Port Stanley. We took a long detour around the suspected danger area and finally arrived a little late, but in time to deposit one hundred and sixty one shells on our targets. On the Sunday we re-ammunitioned; I helped lug the two hundred and fifty cartridges and shells down into the magazines. It was exhausting work. The following night we were south of Port Stanley providing NGS for the land forces in the Bluff Cove area. We came under shore fire again; several shells exploded within 100 yards of the ship. We fired about one hundred and sixty rounds, a few at the source of the hostile fire. No more fire was returned. Overnight we returned to the southern gunline for further NGS and again we came under fire ourselves. We fired one hundred and forty shells under guidance of a spotter ashore with apparently ‘devastating effect’. At 0600Z we left the gunline… when an alarmed PWO [Principal Warfare Officer] piped “ASSUME NBCD STATE ONE... POSSIBLE EXOCET ATTACK”… yet again my body seemed to dissolve. Seconds later it was reported that HMS GLAMORGAN had been hit and that we were closing to render assistance… several people were left gibbering in the corners of the bridge for some minutes after this.

HMS GLAMORGAN had been providing NGS to 45 Commando RM as they took the Two Sisters mountain on the night of the 11-12 June. At 0636L she was struck by a groundlaunched Exocet missile. Her MO, Surg Lt Gilbert, recorded the incident in his journal: On the day a great deal of this careful and thoughtful planning was set at naught by a surprise attack… The sickbay looked a bit of a mess as when the missile struck, the deck was showered with bits of debris… I was standing in the sickbay door trying to marshal my thoughts when the first casualty came in… I was called to the door to see a man with no legs laid at my feet… that was when I realised it was going to be a bad day. I had never previously seen a traumatic amputation although I had used that sort of example to motivate the first aiders during training. It was a moment to take a deep breath and keep moving. Casualty transport One of the lesser known tasks performed by the Fleet was the movement of casualties from the main surgical facilities on board SS CANBERRA and HMHS UGANDA by the RN’s three hydrographic survey ships, as HMS HECLA’s MO, Surg Lt Newman, records: On 14 April we were informed that HMS HECLA was to become a hospital/ambulance ship in the South Atlantic, as were HMS HYDRA and HERALD. A requisitioned P&O Liner SS UGANDA was to be the main hospital ship whilst our job would

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Figure 4: HMHS UGANDA with HMSs HECLA, HYDRA and HERALD in their role as hospital/ambulance ships registered with the International Committee of the Red Cross. (Crown Copyright)

One survivor from HMS ANTELOPE was delighted to have cashed a cheque onboard the ship for £50 the morning the ship was hit. That cheque would never get to the bank! Nearly all of the MOs remark in their journals on the insufficient roughage in the diet on board ship and the consequently high rates of haemorrhoids and constipation amongst their sailors. However, Surg Lt Gilbert from HMS GLAMORGAN offered an alternative solution to the concerns about constipation: We find five air raids a day is sufficient. Roughage would be superfluous. Naval gunfire support to the land forces As British land forces closed on Goose Green and then the ring of mountains surrounding the capital Port Stanley, the Fleet’s destroyers and frigates were tasked to provide NGS. After the involvement in the re-capture of South Georgia, HMS PLYMOUTH was providing air defence protection to the Task Force in San Carlos when she was re-tasked. Her MO, the then Surg Lt Alasdair Walker, described the events of that day: Tuesday, 8 June started as any other in San Carlos. At 1550 PLYMOUTH was ordered to proceed from San Carlos into Falkland Sound and provide direct gunnery support to SAS troops trying to locate an Argentinian look-out post which had been a thorn in our side since “D” day. PLYMOUTH weighed and sailed. At 1645, an air attack was reported due in half an hour, but at 1658 Mirage fighter bombers came flying down the Sound at low altitude. PLYMOUTH did not appear to be their original goal, but she was too opportune a target to miss.

Within minutes, PLYMOUTH was under attack. She was hit by cannon shell and bombs. A depth charge on the flight deck exploded and a major fire broke out in the after PO’s mess. Rapidly, thick smoke filled the after section, and the fire spread to the junior and senior rates’ dining halls. The sick bay and after first aid post were evacuated and the wardroom became the major casualty handling area. By the time all casualties had been evacuated, the fire was out and an assessment could be made of the damage and minor casualties seen to. Several members of the turret’s crew were shaken and had superficial shrapnel wounds. These were all cleaned and dressed. Only one of the firefighters required further antibiotic treatment for a “dirty” chest. This was clear after 24 hours. The attack had left the ship with holes through the mortar bomb room and where the depth charge had gone off over the after PO’s mess. There were minor cannon holes in several places throughout the ship and a large hole through the funnel. The door of the mortar handling room had disappeared along with the port quarterdeck ladder and the mortar barrels were bent. On the inside, the after PO’s mess and both dining halls were gutted and the after section blackened with smoke. The sickbay was not unscathed. An armour piercing bullet had entered through the port side, through the junior rates’ shower cubicles, through a fire locker, across 2 deck passageway, on through the sickbay door, across the sickbay, finally stopping in the opposite bulkhead and landing on the deck. Despite the damage sustained, HMS PLYMOUTH was back on the gun line 6 days later. Likewise, the journal of Surg Lt

Figure 5: Some of the crew of HMS HECLA with the casualties they were repatriating via Montevideo. Silver sulfadiazine dressing bags for hand burns are visible. Army casualties have been issued temporary clothing to replace their burnt uniforms. (Crown Copyright)

Cope on board HMS YARMOUTH describes the risks of closing to shore to support land forces: We were also uneasy about the reports of Exocet missiles mounted on the back of lorries in Port Stanley. We took a long detour around the suspected danger area and finally arrived a little late, but in time to deposit one hundred and sixty one shells on our targets. On the Sunday we re-ammunitioned; I helped lug the two hundred and fifty cartridges and shells down into the magazines. It was exhausting work. The following night we were south of Port Stanley providing NGS for the land forces in the Bluff Cove area. We came under shore fire again; several shells exploded within 100 yards of the ship. We fired about one hundred and sixty rounds, a few at the source of the hostile fire. No more fire was returned. Overnight we returned to the southern gunline for further NGS and again we came under fire ourselves. We fired one hundred and forty shells under guidance of a spotter ashore with apparently ‘devastating effect’. At 0600Z we left the gunline… when an alarmed PWO [Principal Warfare Officer] piped “ASSUME NBCD STATE ONE... POSSIBLE EXOCET ATTACK”… yet again my body seemed to dissolve. Seconds later it was reported that HMS GLAMORGAN had been hit and that we were closing to render assistance… several people were left gibbering in the corners of the bridge for some minutes after this.

HMS GLAMORGAN had been providing NGS to 45 Commando RM as they took the Two Sisters mountain on the night of the 11-12 June. At 0636L she was struck by a groundlaunched Exocet missile. Her MO, Surg Lt Gilbert, recorded the incident in his journal: On the day a great deal of this careful and thoughtful planning was set at naught by a surprise attack… The sickbay looked a bit of a mess as when the missile struck, the deck was showered with bits of debris… I was standing in the sickbay door trying to marshal my thoughts when the first casualty came in… I was called to the door to see a man with no legs laid at my feet… that was when I realised it was going to be a bad day. I had never previously seen a traumatic amputation although I had used that sort of example to motivate the first aiders during training. It was a moment to take a deep breath and keep moving. Casualty transport One of the lesser known tasks performed by the Fleet was the movement of casualties from the main surgical facilities on board SS CANBERRA and HMHS UGANDA by the RN’s three hydrographic survey ships, as HMS HECLA’s MO, Surg Lt Newman, records: On 14 April we were informed that HMS HECLA was to become a hospital/ambulance ship in the South Atlantic, as were HMS HYDRA and HERALD. A requisitioned P&O Liner SS UGANDA was to be the main hospital ship whilst our job would

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be to evacuate wounded from UGANDA to a neutral port for repatriation home…

The ship’s company moved out of their messes and slept in hammocks and camp beds in offices and storerooms around the ship. We received marvellous help from the ship’s company - who helped feed the patients, wash them, and help them to the heads, and who spent much of their time with them. We found many patients asked for night sedation.

The conversion, role and service of Her Majesty’s Hospital Ship UGANDA during the Falklands War: April-August 1982

Conclusion The mostly junior MOs of the 1982 Royal Navy Task Force appeared to recognise the historic nature of the events in which they were playing a part. It is clear from these journals that the MOs of 1982 were expecting routine deployments or exercises and were standing by for contingency operations. They did not anticipate that they would be active participants in the only major maritime conflict of the modern age.

N Pugh

The ship was painted completely white, and marked with red crosses on the funnel, on the superstructure, on the hull and on the lifeboat… HMS HECLA sailed from Gibraltar on 20 April. We arranged for about 60 members of the ship’s company to be trained as medical orderlies who would assist in looking after the patients on the ward… A ‘Red Cross box’ had been established about 40 miles north of the Falklands and HMS HECLA stayed in that area from 21-28 May, in company with UGANDA and later HMS HYDRA and HMS HERALD. HMS HECLA made the first round trip from the Falklands to Montevideo with 24 Argentine POWs and 18 British casualties with relatively minor injuries. Their next trip involved more seriously injured casualties: 61 patients were then transferred to HMS HECLA from UGANDA. Most of them were Welsh Guardsmen from RFA SIR GALAHAD… and we also included a sailor from HMS FEARLESS who had sustained a severe leg injury but had continued firing his gun.

Their previously unpublished accounts of the conflict offer a unique perspective of the events of 35 years ago and document the bravery, professionalism compassion and humour with which they met the challenges they faced in the discharge of their duty. As these journals demonstrate, war at sea demands an adaptability to act outside of previous experience and training to cope with the mass casualties, difficult decisions and delayed casualty evacuation that are inevitably involved.

References 1. Jolly RT. Doctor for friend and foe : Britain’s frontline medic in the fight for the Falklands. London: Conway; 2012.

Authors Surgeon Lieutenant Commander J G Penn-Barwell RN Institute of Naval Medicine, Crescent Road, Gosport PO12 2DL [email protected]

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Abstract In 1982, after Argentinian forces invaded the Falkland Islands, a Royal Navy (RN) Task Force sailed to the South Atlantic. One of the early key decisions made by the Ministry of Defence was to requisition a hospital ship and position her within the war zone. This article describes this deployment and the conversion from Steam Ship (SS) to Her Majesty’s Hospital Ship (HMHS) UGANDA in Gibraltar, and the contribution made by those on board to the war-fighting phase of the Falklands War and beyond. Pugh N. J R Nav Med Serv 2017;103(2):83–88 Introduction ‘Fighting a war is always difficult. But when you are conducting an amphibious campaign more than 8,000 nautical miles from your home base, it becomes a Herculean task. Such were the circumstances of the Falklands War fought in the South Atlantic between Britain and Argentina in 1982…’1

we manage? How many casualties did we treat, how did they reach us and where did they come from? What were the types of injuries? How did we resupply? How were recovering patients repatriated? When did we return to the UK? How did things proceed from there? And, perhaps most importantly – could it be done again?

As the Commanding Officer of the amphibious and land forces from the outset of the Falklands War, Major General Julian Thompson’s soldierly account of events on land, sea and in the air, giving an equal hand to both the advances and setbacks of a relatively modern-day conflict, should be compulsory reading for all military personnel at whatever level of entry. We, their supporting medical advisors and teams, can learn much from Julian Thompson and his senior military colleagues, whose advice should reach us most emphatically as we embark on similar military engagements today - “Prepare for the Unexpected”.

These questions will be answered from my perspective, along with other articles in this issue of the Journal.

In 1982, events began to unravel in the South Atlantic when Argentinian forces invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April. The complex, and now widely-discussed, political, diplomatic and military details in the build-up to the invasion are, of necessity, beyond the scope of this short article. However, one of the early key decisions made by the Ministry of D efence (MOD) after the Task Force sailed to the South Atlantic was to requisition a hospital ship and position her within the war zone. This ship, the P&O Educational Cruise Ship SS U GANDA, was requisitioned by the MOD in Alexandria, Egypt on 13 April 1982. This article will try to answer the questions that those of us tasked to convert a cruise ship to a floating hospital asked ourselves at the time, and the questions that I have been asked on many occasions since. How did the ship convert to her role as hospital ship and what was her specific role within the conflict? Who were the personnel on board and how did

From SS to HMHS The P&O educational cruise ship UGANDA was selected as a floating hospital in the South Atlantic as she was inherently suited for such a conversion. The large, open space on one level, the internal Promenade Deck, was an ideal site for resuscitation, theatres and critical care; she had good cabin accommodation (usually reserved for the teachers, and thus used by our medical and nursing personnel) and, significantly, dormitory-style accommodation (usually inhabited by 900 schoolchildren) which became ideal for recovering ward patients.2 After requisitioning, HMHS UGANDA steamed to Naples to discharge her passengers and then with all speed to Gibraltar. In Gibraltar’s Royal Naval (RN) Dockyard an astonishing conversion then took place over three days of frenetic activity. The fitting of a steel helicopter landing pad at the stern of the ship linking to the Casualty Reception Area (CRA) proved to be crucial in the subsequent success of the overall casualty evacuation process in the Falklands War. A mobile tri-service field hospital was embarked, including 95 tons of medical equipment, 600 oxygen and anaesthetic gas cylinders and 200 flat packed army beds and mattresses. UGANDA’s tonnage of ca. 17,000 GRT and her traditional-shaped hull proved sea-kindly in the almost continual South Atlantic storms and swells, providing a stable platform for the surgery and medical care that was carried out at sea.